There has been mixed reaction in the Muslim world to Pope Benedict's expression of deep sorrow yesterday about the anger caused when he quoted from a medieval dialogue about Christianity and Islam.
And in a deepening of the Pope's difficulties, he also angered some in the Jewish community yesterday when he quoted St Paul on the crucifixion of Jesus.
Pope Benedict's difficulties began during an address at Germany's Regensburg university on Tuesday. He attempted to calm Islamic sensibilities yesterday and also distanced himself from the quotation that had caused Muslim upset.
"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," he stated.
Speaking at his Castelgandolfo summer residence, he continued: "These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought."
He hoped the apology would "appease hearts" and "clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with mutual respect". Before the Pope spoke yesterday there had been protests in Iran and attacks on churches in the West Bank in Palestine. In Somalia an Italian nun was killed in an attack some believe may be linked to his address last Tuesday.
In that address he recalled the words of Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus who, in 1391, said: "Show me just what Mohammed 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."
Despite the Pope's statement yesterday some hardline Muslim groups were not satisfied. "In Hamas we do not view the statement attributed to the Pope as an apology," said Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesman for the group.
The deputy leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, Muhammad Habib, initially called it "a sufficient apology", but later said "it does not rise to the level of a clear apology and, based on this, we're calling on the Pope of the Vatican to issue a clear apology that will decisively end any confusion".
The Muslim Council of Britain said the Pope's expression of regret was "exactly the reassurance many Muslims were looking for".
The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, said yesterday the Pope's comments at Regensburg were taken out of context. "I would hope that people who heard him will see exactly what his sentiments are and that they will respect his genuine sense of regret that what he said was interpreted in that way," he said.
"The important thing is to move forward. He has appealed for frank and open dialogue and that's the important thing we should all be moving towards at this stage," he said.
Dr Martin hoped Irish Muslims would understand that the Pope's intentions were positive. "We've got a good and important Islamic community in Ireland and relations here have been very good."
Just minutes after saying he was "deeply sorry" to the Muslim world yesterday, the Pope quoted from St Paul on the meaning of the cross. Speaking in Italian he cited Paul, saying "we preach the crucified Christ - a scandal for the Jews, a folly for the pagans".
Jewish representatives expressed surprise. Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, a member of the board of the Council of Christians and Jews, set up to counter prejudice between religions and races, said: "The Pope has every right to quote his own holy texts, but it may be unwise in the current climate to choose those which relate to other faiths."