Vatican calls for an end to violence in the name of God
-29/11/06
Responding to a stat
Vatican calls for an end to violence in the name of God
-29/11/06
Responding to a statement from al-Qaida in Iraq denouncing Pope Benedict XVIís bridge-building visit to Turkey as a “crusader campaign” against Islam, the Vatican has issued a strong statement calling for peace among the religions.
In a statement on a militant web site, the armed insurgent group accuses the head of the worldís 1.2 billion Catholics of trying to “extinguish the burning ember of Islam” in the Turkish people.
The target of its announcement, which ignores the messages the pontiff has been delivering, seems to be Muslims still angry over a speech Benedict made two months ago, citing a medieval text linking the Prophet Muhammad to evil and war.
The Pope has since made it categorically clear that he was not approving the source he cited in his academic lecture, and as part of his current visit to Turkey he has emphasised the common roots and bonds of Islam and Christianity, while acknowledging their differences.
In a response issued today, the Vatican has said that al-Qaida’s statement shows the need for all faiths to bring an end to “violence in the name of God.”
A Vatican spokesperson told news agencies that all faiths need to commit their communities against violence and towards a culture of peace and co-existence.
The Catholic Church has been highly critical of Western military intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has moved ever closer to non-violence in recent years, say observers.
Though Benedictís visit has required a major security operation, and led to demonstrations by Islamists over the weekend, reporters inside the country say that so far it is going well.
“It started beautifully: the Pope told the world from Ankara that Islam was a religion of peace,” commented the mainstream Hurriyet newspaper today.
The Popeís was originally conceived in relation to a visit to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul to try to bring the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches closer, after centuries of division. There are some 100,000 Christians in Turkey.
But it has taken on a new meaning and sense of urgency after the often violent reaction across the Muslim world to Benedictís speech at a German university, which was widely misreported ñ though also, critics aver, ìclumsy and ill-consideredî.
As part of his visit, Benedict appears to be shifting his previously negative position towards Turkish accession within the European Union.
Vatican calls for an end to violence in the name of God
-29/11/06
Responding to a statement from al-Qaida in Iraq denouncing Pope Benedict XVIís bridge-building visit to Turkey as a “crusader campaign” against Islam, the Vatican has issued a strong statement calling for peace among the religions.
In a statement on a militant web site, the armed insurgent group accuses the head of the worldís 1.2 billion Catholics of trying to “extinguish the burning ember of Islam” in the Turkish people.
The target of its announcement, which ignores the messages the pontiff has been delivering, seems to be Muslims still angry over a speech Benedict made two months ago, citing a medieval text linking the Prophet Muhammad to evil and war.
The Pope has since made it categorically clear that he was not approving the source he cited in his academic lecture, and as part of his current visit to Turkey he has emphasised the common roots and bonds of Islam and Christianity, while acknowledging their differences.
In a response issued today, the Vatican has said that al-Qaida’s statement shows the need for all faiths to bring an end to “violence in the name of God.”
A Vatican spokesperson told news agencies that all faiths need to commit their communities against violence and towards a culture of peace and co-existence.
The Catholic Church has been highly critical of Western military intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has moved ever closer to non-violence in recent years, say observers.
Though Benedictís visit has required a major security operation, and led to demonstrations by Islamists over the weekend, reporters inside the country say that so far it is going well.
“It started beautifully: the Pope told the world from Ankara that Islam was a religion of peace,” commented the mainstream Hurriyet newspaper today.
The Popeís was originally conceived in relation to a visit to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul to try to bring the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches closer, after centuries of division. There are some 100,000 Christians in Turkey.
But it has taken on a new meaning and sense of urgency after the often violent reaction across the Muslim world to Benedictís speech at a German university, which was widely misreported ñ though also, critics aver, ìclumsy and ill-consideredî.
As part of his visit, Benedict appears to be shifting his previously negative position towards Turkish accession within the European Union.