Word: regensburgers
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...Though Tuesday's tone will no doubt disappoint some of his ardent conservative fans, Benedict was never going to use his first visit to a predominantly Muslim country as a rhetorical Act II to the Regensburg speech. There, in the confines of a German university, he questioned Islam's compatibility with reason, he cited the Koran's references to jihad, and he quoted a Byzantine emperor's rude remarks about Muhammed. In Turkey, if nothing else, Benedict followed the old rule that visiting world leaders don't wag their finger at their host country...
...predecessor. During Benedict's speech alongside Turkey's head of religious affairs Ali Bardakoglu, the Pope cited "mutual respect and esteem," "human and spiritual unity" and the common heritage of Islam and Christianity as ancestors of Abraham. In marked contrast to the nasty historical quote he'd cited in Regensburg, the Pope referred to a warm 11th century meeting of Pope Gregory VII and a Muslim prince. Still smarting from Regensburg, Bardakoglu told the Pope: "The so-called conviction that the sword is used to expand Islam in the world and growing Islamophobia hurts all Muslims...
...John Paul vein, he began a long reflection on war and violence by saying that "true peace needs justice, to correct the economic imbalances and political disturbances which always give rise to tension and threaten every society." This "root-cause" exploration of conflict is much different than Regensburg's search at the heart of religion for the source of violence. It is also a very different tone than his meeting with German Muslims last year in Cologne, where he implored them to help weed out terrorists from their communities - without any mention of the difficulties facing those same immigrant communities...
...prophet Muhammad during a lecture at a German university. Many have tried to predict what the Pope might say about Islam, but most Vatican sources assure TIME that the Turkey trip will most definitely not be the occasion for a provocative follow-up to his University of Regensburg speech. Taking a cue from his predecessor, Benedict will try instead to speak with symbolic gestures. He has sought and received a last-minute invitation for a visit to the historic Blue Mosque in Istanbul on Thursday. Vatican officials are hoping the visit offers visible proof of the "respect and friendship...
...stability that comes in having one man with the authority to resolve any internal dispute. Democracy-in-Catholicism advocates, however, argue, that the Pope's absolute authority does not allow for truly honest and open debate of evolving issues facing the Church. Another downside - as was on display in Regensburg, Germany with Benedict's provocative speech about Islam and violence - is that the singular pull and stature of just one man can sometimes weigh too heavily on the entire Church...