Bertone’s words were reported here as that the Pope is “extremely upset that some portions of his speech were able to sound offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers…” But in the story below, Bertone says that the Pope is “is extremely sorry that certain passages of his speech appeared offensive to Muslim believers…” That sounds like the same statement to me. So is the Pope “upset” or “sorry,” or both? Further clarification is needed.
“Pope ‘sorry’ for Islam comments,” from AFP, with thanks to JE:
The Vatican’s new Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone today said: “The Holy Father is extremely sorry that certain passages of his speech appeared offensive to Muslim believers and were interpreted in a way that does not correspond in any way to his intentions”.
“The Pope is unequivocally in favour of dialogue between religions and cultures,” he said.
He says the pontiff respects believers in Islam and hopes they will understand the true sense of his speech.
There had been widespread calls from political circles in Islamic countries for Pope Benedict to issue an apology.
In Turkey, the country the Pope is due to visit in November, a senior religious figure said the Pope should reconsider his trip for his own safety.
For his own safety? You mean, there are non-Muslims in Turkey who might threaten the Pope? Of course, we all know that “Muslims have no violent character.”