Regensburg lecture/Subsequent Vatican statements

==Subsequent Vatican statements==
===Official Vatican declaration===
On 16 September 2006, Tarcisio Bertone, the Secretary of State of the Holy See, released a declaration explaining that the "position of the Pope concerning Islam is unequivocally that expressed by the conciliar document Nostra Aetate" and that "the Pope's option in favour of inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue is equally unequivocal.""Traduzione In Lingua Inglesse", Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 16 September 2006
====Response to official declaration====
For many Muslim leaders, the declaration on 16 September was insufficient to rectify the situation. A representative for the Muslim Brotherhood rejected the Vatican statement, noting "Has he presented a personal apology for statements by which he clearly is convinced? No.""Pope statement not enough — Muslim Brotherhood", Reuters, 16 September 2006 Grand Mufti Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh, Saudi Arabia's highest religious authority, called the pope's declaration "lies", adding that they "show that reconciliation between religions is impossible.""«Hässliche, unglückliche Äußerungen»: Erdogan fordert Entschuldigung des Papstes", Netzeitung, 17 September 2006 On the other hand, the Muslim Council of Britain had a more favourable view of the declaration, issuing their own statement on 16 September that the Pope's expression of "sincere regret" was "a good first step.""Pope praised for making apology", BBC, 16 September 2006
===Pope's Angelus===
On 17 September, before his regular weekly Sunday Angelus prayer, Pope Benedict XVI stated the following:
====Reactions to Angelus====
The Angelus speech initially received a mixed yet predominantly negative response. Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque, Cairo, a Sunni institution, stated "We have no objection if the Pope holds another speech and declares publicly that what the Byzantine emperor had said was wrong. At the same time, the Pope has to apologize frankly and justify what he said," Mohammed Habib, deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's main Islamic opposition group originally, not long after the Pope's Sunday statements, called them a sufficient apology. However, later in the day, he retracted that statement, saying, "The Pope's comments that downplayed his earlier remarks are not enough. We will not accept anything less than an apology," Mohammed Habib also said: "It does not rise to the level of a clear apology and, based on this, we're calling on the Pope of the Vatican to issue a clear apology that will decisively end any confusion.
This sentiment was shared by the governments of Malaysia ("inadequate to calm the anger"), and Jordan ("a step forward", but "not sufficient"), by Turkish State Minister Mehmet Aydın ("you either have to say this 'I'm sorry' in a proper way or not say it at all. Are you sorry for saying such a thing or because of its consequences?") and scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who called for a "peaceful international day of rage" on his popular TV show on Al Jazeera: "[The Pope's latest statements] were no apology. They were an accusation against Muslims that they didn't understand his words."
Later comments were more favourable of the Pope.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said: "We respect the Pope and all those interested in peace and justice," and said he accepted the Vatican view that the pontiff's words had been "misinterpreted" and "taken out of context".
Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said: "I suppose we could accept this. We hope that there would be no other statements that would anger Muslims."
Ali Bardakoğlu, the head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate said that Benedict's "expression of sadness is a sign that he would work for world peace."
Australian Muslim leader Ameer Ali said Australian Muslims must "accept the Pope's apology" over remarks that offended Islam and "move on". Filipino Muslims expressed support for Pope Benedict's apology and blamed certain media outlets for increasing the tensions between Muslims and Catholics."Benedict to meet Muslim ambassadors today"
===Diplomatic initiative===
On 25 September 2006, Pope Benedict XVI held an audience with Muslim diplomats, ambassadors of Muslim countries and members of the Consulta Islamica, the Italian government appointed consultative body on Islamic affairs. The meeting was an effort to mend relations with the Muslim community. Pope Benedict's spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the meeting at Castel Gandolfo, the Pope's summer residence, was "certainly a sign that dialogue is returning to normal after moments of … misunderstanding."Pope, Muslims Meet in Bid to Defuse Anger
During the session, Pope Benedict XVI reiterated his conviction that the dialogue between Muslims and Christians is "a vital necessity" for the good of a world marked by relativism, one that "excludes the transcendence and universality of reason."ASIANEWS Pope: dialogue between Muslims and Christians "a vital necessity" At this meeting, Pope Benedict expressed "all the esteem and the profound respect that (he has) for Muslim believers.""Address to the Ambassadors of Countries with a Muslim majority and Muslim communities in Italy" by Pope Benedict XVI, 25 September 2006 Among the ambassadors invited were those from Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Morocco, as well as many other nations and Islamic groups.Pope: 'Total and profound respect for Muslims', CNN, 25 September 2006
===Change of text===
Pope Benedict has taken another step to placate anger in the Islamic world over his remarks on holy war, making additions to his original text by re-affirming that a quotation from a 14th-century Byzantine emperor was not his personal opinion. The original text said the emperor's remark was made "somewhat brusquely." The new version says that it was made with "a brusqueness that we find unacceptable." Pope Benedict added in a footnote:
In the Muslim world, this quotation has unfortunately been taken as an expression of my personal position, thus arousing understandable indignation. I hope that the reader of my text can see immediately that this sentence does not express my personal view of the Quran, for which I have the respect due to the holy book of a great religion.He said he cited the text as part of an examination of the "relationship between faith and reason."Pope makes additions to text on Islam
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