Actually there is a really interesting article in the Newsweek magazine about it: "Meacham: The Pope and islam". I wish I could just drop a link here but I cannot find it on the internet.
So, I will copy-type some sentences:
..."why did Benedict quote the emperor in the first place? The most likely answer is that, no matter what the Vatican says now, the pope believes in having what the Catholic theologian and papal biographer George Weigel calls 'a hard-headed conversation' about the role of faith in the life of the worl. "He knew exactly what he was doing" says Weigel. 'He is saying that irrational is displeasing to God. THe question Benedict is putting on the table is:'Does a significant part of Islam have the capacity to be self-critical?'
...but the pope must have known what his words would carry. And by speaking of jihad without alluding to christianity's dark history of violence in the name of God -the Crusades. forced conversions, pogroms, the Inquisition, Benedict seemed to be denouncing Islame while failing to acknowledged that any religion, including his own, can be manipulated and perverted to evil ends.
...Going forward, the pope could usefully consult the words of another powerful Christian leader:"And given that Islam and Christianity worship the one God, Creator of heaven and earth, there is ample room for agreement and cooperation between them", the leader said three months after September 11. "A clash ensues only when Islam or Christianity is misconstrued or manipulated for political or ideological ends'. The leader? John Paul."
Actually there is a really interesting article in the Newsweek magazine about it: "Meacham: The Pope and islam". I wish I could just drop a link here but I cannot find it on the internet.
So, I will copy-type some sentences:
..."why did Benedict quote the emperor in the first place? The most likely answer is that, no matter what the Vatican says now, the pope believes in having what the Catholic theologian and papal biographer George Weigel calls 'a hard-headed conversation' about the role of faith in the life of the worl. "He knew exactly what he was doing" says Weigel. 'He is saying that irrational is displeasing to God. THe question Benedict is putting on the table is:'Does a significant part of Islam have the capacity to be self-critical?'
...but the pope must have known what his words would carry. And by speaking of jihad without alluding to christianity's dark history of violence in the name of God -the Crusades. forced conversions, pogroms, the Inquisition, Benedict seemed to be denouncing Islame while failing to acknowledged that any religion, including his own, can be manipulated and perverted to evil ends.
...Going forward, the pope could usefully consult the words of another powerful Christian leader:"And given that Islam and Christianity worship the one God, Creator of heaven and earth, there is ample room for agreement and cooperation between them", the leader said three months after September 11. "A clash ensues only when Islam or Christianity is misconstrued or manipulated for political or ideological ends'. The leader? John Paul."