September 18-19, on the front page of the Osservatore Romano

While the turmoil in the Muslim  world was not yet appeased following the words of Pope Benedict XVI on Islam and “jihad”, the nuncios were called upon to explain to the religious and political authorities of the Muslim countries the position of the pope, and the Vatican daily published the pope’s apology in Arabic. In its edition dated September 18-19, 2006, the Osservatore Romano published the regrets expressed by Benedict XVI on the occasion of the Angelus of September 17. Besides the customary report in Italian of the Angelus message of the previous day, the words of the pope were published in the very center of the front page in Arabic, French and English versions. According to Vatican specialists, this exceptional fact shows the desire of the Holy See to convey the pope’s apology to the Muslim world.