The pope expresses his regrets

Benedict XVI said this morning that he was sorry that his homely in Germany offended many Muslims. Here is part of what he said:

At this time, I wish also to add that I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims.These in fact were a quotation from a Medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought. Yesterday, the Cardinal Secretary of State published a statement in this regard in which he explained the true meaning of my words. I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect.

It isn’t fair to say that the Pope backed down, he just realized that he was no longer Cardinal Ratzinger, the principal theologian of the Vatican, but Benedict XVI the head of the Catholic Church. It is the role of the pope to not only lead the faithful, but also to be a diplomat and to realize that blunt speech cannot lead to the dialogue that is necessary for people of different faiths to have to change the world. The reactions in the Muslim World are of course excessive, oversensitive, and hypocritical, but they were predictable. It is more important now than ever that the Pope goes on with his plan trip to Turkey to show that he is open to dialogue with people who don't share his ideas and all of his values and he respects Islam even though he disapproves of the actions of Islamists.