Pope 'extremely upset' that Muslims offended

Pope Benedict XVI is “extremely upset” that Muslims have been offended by some of his words in a recent speech in Germany, the Vatican said today.

The new Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said that the Pope’s position on Islam is unmistakably in line with Vatican teaching that the Church ”esteems Muslims, who adore the only God”.

Thus, the Pope is “extremely upset that some portions of his speech were able to sound offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers and have been interpreted in a way that does not at all correspond to his intentions,” Bertone said in a statement.

The words, in a speech Benedict gave to university professors earlier in the week during a pilgrimage to his homeland, angered many in the Islamic world and raised doubts over whether a planned trip to predominantly Muslim Turkey in late November would go ahead.