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The Pope is the target of a lot of criticism for words that might be considered "apologies" to Muslims:
And in the eyes of some, the Pope only made matters worse when he started apologising. Popes do not apologise; they are supposed to be infallible. Grave damage to the papal image within the Church was foreseen.
But the Pope continues to hammer on the Islamic community to provide non-Muslims with rights that Muslims have in Western nations, but which non-Muslims do not have in Islamic nations:
Gerard O'Connell, a Vatican affairs analyst, said: "He conveyed very clearly that his interest was to build bridges, not to destroy them. He's realised he's had to clarify where he stands on inter-religious dialogue... he's stated clearly that we have common religious values."
Yet the Pope also underlined the need for "reciprocity in all spheres", quoting the words of his predecessor to 80,000 Islamic youths in Morocco in 1985 - meaning among other things the right of Christians to worship publicly in Saudi Arabia, for example, a right they currently do not possess.
He's not letting up on them. Go Pope Benedict XVI!
