News Briefs

Williams Defends Pope Over Muslim Comments

The Archbishop of Canterbury has defended the Pope as he continues to face anger from some Islamic groups over comments he made on Islam in a speech last Tuesday.

Dr Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of 77 million worldwide, welcomed Pope Benedict XVI's apology for the offence his comments had caused, but added that his comments should be taken in context.

"The Pope has already issued an apology and I think his views on this need to be judged against his entire record, where he has spoken very positively about dialogue," Williams said in an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday.

The German-born Pope said on Sunday that he was "deeply sorry" for the offence caused by his comments and insisted that they were "a quotation from a mediaeval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought".

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