Aug 20, 2005 7:58 pm US/Eastern
Pope Urges Muslims To Fight Terrorism
Discussed Issue With Muslim Officials In Germany
COLOGNE, Germany (CBS) ―
Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday decried the "cruel fanaticism" of terrorism and urged Muslims to join Christians in trying to combat its spread.
In blunt remarks, he told a gathering of Muslim officials in Germany that Muslim leaders had a "great responsibility" in properly educating their younger generations.
"I am certain that I echo your own thoughts when I bring up as one of our concerns the spread of terrorism," Benedict told the Muslim leadership, mainly Turks, in the most extensive remarks on terrorism of his four-month papacy.
"Terrorist activity is continually recurring in various parts of the world, sowing death and destruction, and plunging many of our brothers and sisters into grief and despair," he said.
He did not mention specific attacks or who was responsible, or speak directly about suicide bombings.
But CBS News Correspondent Allen Pizzey reports that observers saw it as significant that Benedict chose a Muslim audience to declare that religious leaders bear "a great responsibility for the formation of the younger generation."
Pizzey reports that the message struck a chord as an Islamic leader said there was "a common platform" on the issue.
"Those who instigate and plan these attacks evidently wish to poison our relations, making use of all means, including religion, to oppose every attempt to build a peaceful, fair and serene life together," Benedict said.
The meeting, during Benedict's four-day trip to Germany for the Church's World Youth Day, was part of Benedict's outreach to non-Catholics to achieve common positions on social issues and world peace.
Pizzey reports that the real test of Benedict's trip will be measured when the approval ratings from his encounters with the youth come in.
There are some 3.5 million Muslims in Germany, one of the highest figures in Western Europe.
Going into Saturday's meeting, he had been cautious about making any links between terrorism and Islam, rejecting the idea that the world faced a "clash of civilizations" and reportedly overruling an aide who wanted to brand the July 7 London bombings as anti-Christian.
But in warning Saturday that the world risked exposure to "the darkness of a new barbarism," he stressed that Muslim leaders must "guide Muslim believers and train them in the Islamic faith.
"Teaching is the vehicle through which ideas and convictions are transmitted. Words are highly influential in the education of the mind."
Benedict said that by working together, Catholics and Muslims could "turn back the wave of cruel fanaticism that endangers the lives of so many people and hinders progress toward world peace."
(© 2005 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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