Cardinal Bertone steps into the breach, issues statement

Well, I was right that the next person we'd here from would be Cardinal Bertone:

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI is "extremely upset" that Muslims have been offended by some of his words in a recent speech in Germany, the Vatican said Saturday.

The new Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said the pope's position on Islam is unmistakably in line with Vatican teaching that the church "esteems Muslims, who adore the only God."

Thus, the pope is "extremely upset that some portions of his speech were able to sound offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers and have been interpreted in a way that does not at all correspond to his intentions," Bertone said in a statement.

...

Cardinal Bertone, referring to the emperor's assessment, said "the Holy Father absolutely didn't intend nor intends to make it his own (assessment.)"

The cardinal pointed out that the pope was speaking in an academic setting and suggested that a "complete and careful reading" of the entire text would make clear the pope's reflections about the relationship between religion and violence in general.

He said the pope's speech ended with "a clear and radical refusal of religious motivation for violence, from whatever side it comes from." [source]

Actually, I'm fairly impressed with Bertone's choice of words. It's no surprise, after all, that Pope Benedict would be "extremely upset" that "some portions of his speech were able to sound offensive" to Muslims - their response being, of course, completely unreasonable. I'd be upset too.

Sure the church "esteems Muslims, who adore the only God." It's just the ones that firebomb churches (see below) that we have an immediate and pressing problem with...

And finally, "the Holy Father absolutely didn't intend nor intends to make it [the famous quotation] his own (assessment.)" That's right, the Pope might want to take it farther. :-)

Anyway, I'm still trying to find Bertone's original statement (unfortunately, I will be at the conference all day and so probably won't have access to a computer). More updates tonight.

Meanwhile, Muslims have begun firebombing Catholic churches on the West Bank. I think I've read headlines like this so often now that I'm becoming desensitized. Really, I should be more upset by Muslim violence against Christians worldwide. Then again, it's hard to retain one's sensitivity in the face of such prolonged and profound brutality.