A bishop expands on the meeting:

Today, in an interview with the newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, Auxiliary Bishop Rino Fisichella clarified the motives for the papal audience with Fallaci.

"That the Pope should receive Oriana Fallaci and talk with her should not surprise anyone, unless they have evil intentions," Bishop Fisichella told the newspaper.

"She is an interpreter of our times, raises a sign of alarm on a danger, and asked to speak with the Pope in a reserved way," he said. "The Pope accepted. There is nothing more to it."

Although Fallaci "is not a believer, she has reflected much — as she said in a recent interview — on Cardinal Ratzinger’s invitation to nonbelievers to behave ‘as if God existed.’ A ‘brilliant’ invitation, as she described it," added Bishop Fisichella.