Historic Saudi visit to Vatican

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI, who riled Muslims over his comments on Islam and violence, met for the first time yesterday with the monarch of Saudi Arabia, which has been pressed by the Vatican to allow freedom of worship for Christians.

Benedict warmly greeted King Abdullah, grasping both his hands before heading into 30 minutes of private talks in his library. The Vatican said Abdullah had requested the audience during his European tour.He had visited the Vatican twice before, as crown prince and deputy prime minister of the oil power.Benedict has said he wants to reach out to all countries that still don’t have diplomatic relations with the Holy See; they include Saudi Arabia and China.At the same time, Benedict and other Vatican officials have often protested that Christians are unable to worship openly in Saudi Arabia and are barred from opening churches in the desert kingdom.The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano said the Holy See hoped the meeting would produce a frank dialogue between the two sides over the issue, noting that there are more than 1 million Christian guest workers in Saudi Arabia.At the end of the meeting, Abdullah presented Benedict with a traditional Middle Eastern gift – a golden sword studded with jewels – as well as a gold and silver statue of a palm tree and man riding a camel.The pope admired the statue but merely touched the sword.Benedict sparked anger in the Muslim world in 2006 when he delivered a speech linking Islam to violence.He said he was misunderstood and regretted offending Muslims.Since then, he has met a number of Islamic leaders and a year ago visited predominantly Muslim Turkey.The Vatican has said it wants to pursue a dialogue with moderate Muslims.Nampa-APThe Vatican said Abdullah had requested the audience during his European tour.He had visited the Vatican twice before, as crown prince and deputy prime minister of the oil power.Benedict has said he wants to reach out to all countries that still don’t have diplomatic relations with the Holy See; they include Saudi Arabia and China.At the same time, Benedict and other Vatican officials have often protested that Christians are unable to worship openly in Saudi Arabia and are barred from opening churches in the desert kingdom.The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano said the Holy See hoped the meeting would produce a frank dialogue between the two sides over the issue, noting that there are more than 1 million Christian guest workers in Saudi Arabia.At the end of the meeting, Abdullah presented Benedict with a traditional Middle Eastern gift – a golden sword studded with jewels – as well as a gold and silver statue of a palm tree and man riding a camel.The pope admired the statue but merely touched the sword.Benedict sparked anger in the Muslim world in 2006 when he delivered a speech linking Islam to violence.He said he was misunderstood and regretted offending Muslims.Since then, he has met a number of Islamic leaders and a year ago visited predominantly Muslim Turkey.The Vatican has said it wants to pursue a dialogue with moderate Muslims.Nampa-AP