Free Republic

In his 2006 speech at the University of Regensburg in Bavaria, Pope Benedict XVI quoted a 14th-century dialogue between Byzantine emperor, Manuel II Paleologus, and a Persian Muslim scholar: “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” Yes, that more accurately sums up the Islamic contribution(s) to mankind. “1001 Muslim Myths and Historical Revisions,” by Pamela Geller, Breitbart News, July 26, 2015.

To bank the firestorm ignited by his address in Regensburg, Germany, Pope Benedict XVI declared himself "deeply sorry" for the effect his remarks have had on the Muslim world. The words of the Byzantine emperor he quoted, Benedict explained, were "from a Medieval text which do not in any way express my personal thoughts." The pope's subject was the "profound harmony" of biblical truth and Greek thought. No conflict exists, he argued, between true faith and right reason. Contending violence is the antithesis of reason, he cited the "erudite Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus," during a siege of Constantinople, between...