Castel Gandolfo, Italy
Pope Benedict XVI told Muslims this week that he wanted to begin a new dialogue between Christians and Muslims. A 30-minute meeting between the pope and 22 ambassadors from Muslim countries was carried live on Al-Jazeera and other Arabic satellite stations. Most ambassadors refused to comment on the encounter, which was prompted by Muslim outrage over a papal speech last month in which Benedict quoted a Byzantine emperor who vilified Mohammed’s teachings. Several commentaries in Muslim countries, though, observed that the pope’s call for “dialogue” was delivered as a monologue.
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