Word: pope
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...Pope Benedict's provocative 2006 University of Regensburg speech about faith and violence concluded with a warm and heady encouragement for Muslims to partake "in the dialogue of cultures...
...rather than a grand theologian's invitation to tea, Muslims around the world took the Pope's discourse - a probing and sometimes blunt analysis of reason's role in religion that included a denigrating historical reference to Mohammed - as a monumental slap in the face. The Pope's defenders argued that some of the more radical reactions to the speech, including church burnings in the West Bank and the murder of a nun in Somalia, were themselves proof that Benedict was right to delve deeply into the question of violence in Islam. All agreed that more than tea would...
...Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the Pope's point man on relations with Islam, told the French Catholic daily La Croix this week that the meeting launches a "new chapter" in relations between Muslims and Catholics that must never gloss over the religions' fundamental differences. "This dialogue is not about finding the lowest common denominator, saying we're all alike. It reminds us instead the exigency of the truth, which for us is Jesus Christ," Tauran said. "You need to look, listen and respect the other. But then, affirm your own identity...
...Vatican's current approach to relations with other religions marks a subtle but fundamental break from the recent past. The previous pope, John Paul II, emphasized the common traits and shared experiences among Catholics and holders of other beliefs, favoring feel-good summits and symbolic gestures of unity. Benedict is ready to extend his hand, but sees a risk of diluting the essence of one's belief when straining for the proverbial common ground...
...Ibrahim Kalin, a Turkish-born Islamic theologian who teaches at Georgetown University, was one of 38 Muslim scholars and imams who sent a "letter of clarification" after the Pope's speech. Exactly one year after Regensburg, he helped establish "The Common Word" committee of Muslims to improve relations with all Christian denominations. His group has already met in the U.S. and Britain with Protestant leaders. To be now invited to the Vatican, Kalin says, is a major step toward a permanent dialogue to improve relations between Muslims and Christians...