Session has started. Please submit your questions. We apologize beforehand for not being able to answer all of your questions due to time limitations.
Answer
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Name
visitor
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Profession
Question
Respected Sir,
There are some people who says that the statement about Islam was prsented to the Pope without his approval or knowledge, how correct is this?
Answer
No, the text was made by the Pope himself.
One report (by Ian Fisher of NY Times) says that some unnamed Vatican officials said that they had seen the Pope's text beforehand and had expressed some reservations about the Paleologus passage.
The decision to use the reference was the Pope's.
Name
ameena
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Profession
student
Question
Good day.
I would like to know if the comments of the Pope were the general view of the Vatican as a whole or was it a personal view point.
If so, are these addresses to the public not proofread or approved by all members of the Vatican?
I don't condone the violence/repercussions thereof but I do believe that these actions could have been prevented.
I have many Christian friends who never felt ill toward my religion. However, those words have sown seeds of disrespect and hate toward my religion.
How can the Pope with knowledge of the current state of the world against Islam not know what his words would cause?
I would appreciate it if all my questions would be answered as truthfully as possible.
Answer
Dear Ameena,
I will try to answer your questions truthfully. First of all, the Pope's comments were his personal viewpoint. No doubt that there are some in the Vatican who agree with the Pope, but there are many in the Vatican who do not agree with the Pope's personal views.
I used to work in the Vatican in the days of Pope John Paul II (1981-1994). He always passed his speeches to those of us who knew Muslims well to proofread and make sure there was nothing offensive. On the few occasions I found phrases that I felt were offensive, I noted them and the Pope always changed them before delivering his speech.
I think one of the lessons the new Pope has learned is the need to have his words checked or proofread lest something like this happen again.
Yes, I believe that using an ill-informed and prejudiced author like Manuel Paleologus has sown seeds of disrespect. I believe the Pope when he says that he never intended disrespect towards Muslims, nevertheless that is the result of such an ill-chosen example. I feel that we Christians owe Muslims an apology.
The Pope was probably thinking as a scholar and did not realize that so many people would be hearing what he said. I think that in this case, the Pope should have had better advisors who could have told him that his words would break down years of trust and openness between Christians and Muslims.
Name
Anon
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Profession
Question
Dear sir
I hope you are fine and happy.
I say our rights should stop when it affect others' rights.
Although humans have been given the freedom but they have to use it positivly. Talking against prophets or against religions in such a way to show them bad and saying false is really hurting others.
What is your opinion?
Thanks
Answer
Dear Anonymous,
I agree with you. The right to free speech is limited by the responsibility not to speak against prophets or against people's religions. I was not in favour of the scurrilous cartoons that appeared some months ago, and I wrote publicly against them.
Thomas Michel, sj
Name
Tamer
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Profession
Engineer
Question
How does the Vatican look at Islam?
Do you see it as a violant relegion?
How do you see Islam's image in the Western media?
Is it a reflection of its values?
Answer
The Second Vatican Council is the Church's highest teaching authority. In its document "Nostra Aetate," it says that "the Church looks on Muslims with esteem," and goes on to say why.
Muslims worship God, seek to do His will by prayer, alms, and fasting. It asks that Muslims and Christians should work together to build peace, social justice, moral values, and true human freedom before God.
I wish I could say that all Christians follow this teaching. It takes a long time to overcome prejudices and stereotypes.
The image of Islam in the Western media is very negative. Islam is pictured as xenophobic, prone to violence, and backward. I believe that the Western media is unfairly obsessed with Islam.
Part of this is that Islam is seen as being strongly opposed to secular and humanist values. I think that all religious believers, including Christians, should be grateful to Muslims for raising questions of God and faith in our secular societies.
Name
Aysha
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Profession
Student
Question
Hi,
I just want to ask: If the Pope didn't believe in the statement he gave or quote, then why did he use that notorious statement in his speech?
Answer
Dear Aysha,
I don't know. It was a bad idea. I guess that the Pope felt that it made his point about the need for rationality in religion.
My own view is that whenever we use a negative example, we should take it from our own history rather than from someone else's. The Pope could have used the Crusades, for example, if he wanted to criticize religiously-inspired violence and it would not have given offence to others.
Name
Kunhimon
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Profession
Engineer
Question
We muslims believe that there is a book given to Prophet Isa by God called Injeel.
Do you believe Christ prieched such a book?
If yes, where is it appearing in the bible?
Answer
Injil (or Injeel) is the Arabic word for "Gospel".
Among the 72 books that make up the Christian collection of Sacred literature called the Bible, four of those books are called "Gospels."
We Christians do not believe that Jesus brought any revealed book from God. Rather, we believe that he embodies God's revelation for humankind.
The Four Gospels (and the other books of the Bible) point to Jesus to tell us who he is, what God has been teaching us and doing for us in the life of Jesus.
So our Christian understanding of God's revelation is different from the Islamic understanding on this point.
Name
Omar
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Profession
Question
In light of the twisted fundamentalist ideas some terrorists have, how wise do you think the Pope's remarks were?
Don't you think it just added fuel to an already raging fire? Now the terroists will feel justified in killing civilians.
With this in mind, how did the Pope's speech seem wise at the time it was written and reviewed?
Answer
I do not believe that the Pope's remarks were wise. I believe that someone in the Vatican should have told him that before he ever delivered his remarks. I feel that all this could have been avoided if the Pope's advisors and assistants had been doing their job correctly.
I hope that the Pope's remarks, which were not wise, does not fuel more violence. I hope that Muslims will accept his apology and forgive.
Name
Aloysius
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Profession
Rocket Scientist
Question
Are you pessimistic about Islamic terrorists launching another misguided attack upon the Vatican?
Answer
No, people don't seem to be thinking about that. I haven't seen any added security around Vatican City.
I'm hopeful that the Muslim ambassadors' meeting today with the Pope will be a step toward reconciliation. It will take a long time to rebuild the trust that was there with Pope John Paul II but I believe that Pope Benedict can still do that.
The Muslims I've been in contact with since this crisis started seem confident that after a real apology, we will be able to move forward again.
Name
Mohammad
- Egypt
Profession
Question
Is there a way for interfaith dialogue and mutual respect to stop future misunderstanding?
Answer
Dear Mohammad,
I believe that dialogue and mutual respect can stop future misunderstanding. In families, we are always getting into arguments, and someone says the wrong thing and others are angry. The important thing is to keep the lines of communication open.
I'm convinced that what we Muslims and Christians together have to offer the world is too important to be lost in mutual arguments. For both of us, God is at the center and root of our lives, the basis of our morality.
In a world where many people do not care about God or God's will for us, sincere Muslims and Christians must engage in dialogue in order to come to a common understanding of the witness we must give to our world.
Name
Abdullah
- Jordan
Profession
Question
Has Pope Benedict XVI held meetings with Vatican officials and explained what he really meant in his speech?
Or was his message clear to all Vatican officials from the start?
Answer
Dear Abdullah,
I really don't know. As I explained in an answer to another question, I worked in the Vatican as Head of the Office for Islam for 13 years, between 1981 and 1994. I don't work there any more, but I am a "consultor." Friends in the Vatican told me that the Pope has not called them together to explain what he meant in his speech.
His message was not clear to all Vatican officials from the start. The vast majority of them did not even see the text until they read about it in the newspapers. A few who were close to the Pope told reporters anonymously that they had expressed reservations about the text.
Name
Ali
- Kuwait
Profession
Question
What efforts are exerted on the Vatican's side to decrease the gap between the angered Muslims and the Pope?
Answer
Dear Ali,
A week ago Sunday, during his noonday audience, the Pope said he was sorry for the offence given to Muslims. His Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone, said basically the same thing, that the Pope never intended to offend Muslims.
Then today (25 September) the Pope invited all the Muslim ambassadors to the Vatican to his residence in Castel Gandolfo, and there he gave a good speech in which he repeated the words of the Second Vatican Council: "The Church looks upon Muslims with respect."
In addition, many of us have been trying to do what we can to build reconciliation. I have written my own apologies in Muslim journals in several countries. If you are interested I can send you what I have written.
Name
Alaa
- Egypt
Profession
Question
Has the Pope considered travelling to certain Muslim states and clear away the clouds?
Answer
Dear Alaa,
The Pope intends to travel to Turkey in late November. I haven't heard of any other visits to Muslim countries that are planned. Of course, as a head of state (the tiny "Vatican City") the Pope cannot visit any country without an invitation from that country.
Name
anonymous
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Profession
Question
Why does the the Pope keep making semi-apologies, one after the other -- no real apologies, but rather saying that it is Muslims who misunderstood him or that the contorversial statement was made by the Bezantine Emperor and that the Pope only quoted him, semi apologies from this sort.
By doing so, the Pope makes it seem to the West like he is the one who compromises and who keeps "apologizing" whereas Muslims insist on making trouble. Whereas, in reality, what Muslims asked for was ONE clear-cut, direct apology, nothing more.
Answer
I agree with you.
In human life, what start out as apologies often turn into self-justifications (e.g., "I'm sorry I'm late, but I didn't get your message until late, and then you didn't tell me very clearly where we were supposed to meet etc." Such "apologies" tend not to be accepted and the bad feelings continue.)
I would like to see exactly what you asked for: a clear-cut direct apology.
Name
J.D.
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Profession
Question
The Vatican talks a lot about "reciprocity" in regard to Islam. Can you explain what this means?
Answer
It means that the Vatican hopes that the same religious freedoms and privileges that are given to Muslims when they are minorities in Christian-majority countries will be given to Chritian minorities in Muslim-majority nations: The right to have their own schools, build their own churches, carry out charitable works, change religions freely, ...etc.
In one country, Christians cannot have churches to worship God in. In some countries, it is not permitted to change religion.
The Vatican says that their should be mutual or reciprocal recognition of each other's rights.
