An unfortunate quote

Muslim outrage over Pope Benedict's quotation of a 14th century Byzantine Christian emperor continues to grow.  This episode seems to be an unfortunate hybrid of two recent high-profile cultural battles: first, the Danish cartoons, for obvious reasons; second, it brings to mind Harvard President Larry Summers' comments about women in science: both Summers and the pope are scholars who made provocative statements without meaning to affirm the truth of the matters asserted, apparently overlooking the fact that their positions of prominence do not give them the luxury of scholarly reflection without significant public fallout.  It seems to me that Pope Benedict should personally clarify that he does not share the view embodied in the quote and explain why he offered it in the first place.  Whether or not it placates the masses (and I doubt it would), it would at least make clear to reasonable Muslims that Benedict does not share equal billing with Hitler and Mussolini (as a top Turkish official seems to believe).  I don't mean that we should constrain free and open discourse about religion because of many Muslims' reactions to statements about their faith, but I do think that the pope has to show particular prudence and self-restraint when speaking about non-essentials in order to ensure his continued capacity to build bridges.

Rob