From AP, with thanks to Uncle Jeff:
A day after reaching out to other Christians and to Jews in his installation Mass, Pope Benedict XVI met with members of the Muslim community on Monday and assured them that the church wanted to continue “building bridges of friendship.”
Benedict made the comments in a meeting with religious leaders who attended his installation ceremony, saying he was particularly grateful that members of the Muslim community were present.
“I express my appreciation for the growth of dialogue between Muslims and Christians, both at the local and international level,” he said.
He noted that the world is currently marked by conflicts but said it longs for peace.
“Yet peace is also a duty to which all peoples must be committed, especially those who profess to belong to religious traditions,” he said. “Our efforts to come together and foster dialogue are a valuable contribution to building peace on solid foundations.”
The Vatican didn’t say which Muslim leaders attended the private meeting.
A sign that this Pope will continue along a familiar path of dhimmitude? Maybe; but his statement that “peace is also a duty to which all peoples must be committed, especially those who profess to belong to religious traditions” might have been a pointed declaration to his audience that they need to clean their own house.