Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey of Clifton, has spoken out against "violent" Islam during a lecture in which he defended Pope Benedict's "extraordinarily effective and lucid" speech, The Times has reported.

"Great urgency" is needed for Muslims to address the religion's association with violence, said Lord Carey. He said the "clash of civilisations" that many say is endangering the world, was not between Islamic extremists and the West but rather it was with Islam as a whole.

Lord Carey said, "We are living in dangerous and potentially cataclysmic times. There will be no significant material and economic progress [in Muslim communities] until the Muslim mind is allowed to challenge the status quo of Muslim conventions and even their most cherished shibboleths."

It was also reported this week that the man who shot and wounded the last Pope, John Paul II, had now written to Pope Benedict XVI to warn him that he was in danger.