The Pope has made a fresh attempt to calm widespread Muslim anger as he expressed the hope that comments he made last week on Islam would lead to dialogue.

Pope Benedict XVI made the comments as he addressed the faithful outside the Vatican in St Peter's Square, Rome, on Wednesday.

In his weekly address, the Pope said: "I hope ... my deep respect for great religions, in particular for Muslims ... has emerged clearly.

"I trust that after the initial reaction, my words ... can constitute an impulse and encouragement toward positive, even self-critical dialogue."

This would be "both among religions and between modern reason and Christian faith".