Henry Kissinger, in the area for other meetings, will meet with Benedcit tomorrow at Castel Gandolfo

Also, via the Papa Raztinger Forum, an analysis of the Monday meeting from Il Giornale:

But Benedict XVI said more, in a sense going beyond Regensburg. For many Muslims, there is a taboo word that is never said: reciprocity. Exploiting to their advantage the Western ideology of multi-culturalism, they affirm that each culture should be judged according to its traditions.

Therefore they think it is only right that Muslims can build mosques and seek converts in the West, consistent with the Western principle of religious freedom, as it is only right that in Saudi Arabia, for instance, Christians cannot build churches, and in great parts of the Muslim world, cannot seek converts, because Islamic culture does not allow that.

Relativism today allows Muslims to maintain that there are no universal human rights that can be imposed on everyone regardless of the local context. That is why it is normal that religious freedom protects Muslims in Rome but not Christians in Pakistan.

And this is what gave the Pope an opportunity to make his countermove.

Responding implicitly to those who have accused him of being more hardline on Islam than John Paul II, he cited his predecessor who, in a "memorable" speech in 1985 in Casablanca, reminded Muslims present, including the King of Morocco, that ther are universal rights, that religious freedom is not limited to freedom of worship but includes missionary activity and conversion, and that dialog requires ‘reciprocity in all areas, especially where it concerns fundamental freedoms, and most particularly, religious freedom."

The word that was to be avoided was said and resounded strong and clear: reciprocity. His guests must have taken stock: It’s easy to attack a quotation from Manuel II Paleologos, but how do you deal with someone who cites John Paul II, who is very popular even in Muslim countries?

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