REUTERS: AMMAN - Pope Benedict began a delicate trip to the Middle East on Friday by expressing "deep respect" for Islam and calling for a three-way dialogue of Christians, Muslims and Jews to help peace.
The 82-year-old pope appeared careful to avoid politically tinged statements at the start of his first visit to the region, which will also take him to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
"My visit to Jordan gives me a welcome opportunity to speak of my deep respect for the Muslim community," Benedict said in his arrival address, praising King Abdullah for his work in "promoting a better understanding of the virtues proclaimed by Islam."
Benedict's Regensburg speech in 2006, in which he implied Islam was violent and irrational, still rankles in the Islamic world. Jordanian Islamist leaders have denounced the visit, saying he should apologise for the Regensburg speech first.
The pope tactfully avoided politics in responding to reporters' questions on the plane taking him to Jordan, stressing the potential of religion to help resolve conflicts.
"We are not a political power but a spiritual force and this spiritual force is a reality that can contribute to progress in the peace process," he told journalists aboard his airplane.
"As believers we are convinced that prayer is a real force, it opens the world to God. We are convinced that God listens and can affect history and I think that if millions of believers pray it really is a force that has influence and can make a contribution to moving ahead with peace," he said. >>> By Philip Pullella and Tom Heneghan. Additional reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi, editing by Mark Trevelyan | Friday, May 8, 2009
Watch BBC video: Pope Benedict XVI says he has 'deep respect' for the Muslim community >>>
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Pope Begins Mid-East Pilgrimage >>> | Friday, May 8, 2009
