Pope: Christians and Muslims must reject violence

Seeking to end anger in the Islamic world caused by his remarks on holy war, Pope Benedict XVI told Muslim ambassadors today that the two faiths must overcome any historic enmities and together reject violence, saying the future of humanity is at stake.

The Roman Catholic leader hammered at his theme that religions have no room for violent extremists while he also demanded “reciprocity” in religious freedom, a Vatican call for the rights of Christians throughout the Islamic world.

“The circumstances which have given risen to our gathering are well known,” Benedict said, referring to his remarks on Islam in a September 12 speech at Regensburg University, Germany, which set off protests around the Muslim world.

His five-minute address at the formal meeting with 22 foreign diplomats and representatives of Italian Muslim organisations – he greeted them one by one and clasped their hands warmly – seemed to have been well received by his guests at his vacation palace in the Alban Hills south of Rome.

“The Holy Father stated his profound respect for Islam. This is what we were expecting,” Iraqi envoy Albert Edward Ismail Yelda said.

“It is now time to put what happened behind and build bridges.”