The meeting came a year after Muslim leaders wrote a letter to Pope Benedict XVI after he offended many Muslims with a sermon that contained an anti-Islam quote.

The meeting came a year after Muslim leaders wrote a letter to Pope Benedict XVI after he offended many Muslims with a sermon that contained an anti-Islam quote.

In an attempt to improve relations with the Islamic world, the Vatican opened a three-day Catholic-Muslim seminar on Tuesday.

In an attempt to improve relations with the Islamic world, the Vatican opened a three-day Catholic-Muslim seminar on Tuesday.

The pope’s spokesman said Pope Benedict XVI’s response was not a “public commitment,” according to The Associated Press.

An image of Pope Benedict XVI with a swastika over his face appeared on a Web site run by supporters of Kadima, but was removed at the request of the party’s leader.

Tensions heightened this weekend between the Vatican and Israel after a Vatican official said that Pope Benedict XVI had halted the beatification of Pius XII.

Tensions heightened this weekend between the Vatican and Israel after a Vatican official said that Pope Benedict XVI had halted the beatification of Pius XII.

Pope Benedict XVI said that Pope Pius XII had worked “secretly and silently” to save Jews during World War II, and he said he hoped that Pius’s beatification would “proceed happily.”

Pope Benedict XVI is looking to reconquer Europe, if not in numbers, then at the political table.