According to the daily, "the Pope used the quotation to bolster his argument that faith should not be spread by 'holy wars', insisting that 'violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul'. These words can just as easily be applied, in fact should be applied, to the Crusades of eight-ten centuries ago, and for which Benedict's predecessor, Pope John Paul II, had apologised. They are applicable to all religious wars fought throughout the centuries, and indeed are still being fought in our own, brand new 21st century. What the Pope delivered was an impassioned and eruditely argued case for religious tolerance. ... Wars of religion are continuing today in parts of the Muslim world: during the 16-year civil war in Lebanon, for example; for decades it has raged in Sudan and in Nigeria, and massacres between adherents of the two major branches of Islam - the Sunnis and the Shi'ites - are occurring in Iraq every day." (18/09/2006)

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"If this crisis doesn't turn into a repeat of the cartoon row it will be only thanks to the quick reaction of the Vatican and the soothing words of Islamic leaders who no longer insist on an explicit apology", Monika Kappus writes. "Yesterday the protests against Benedict appeared to be losing momentum. If the situation doesn't escalate it will be all the more remarkable because rather than apologising for his remarks, the Pope simply expressed his sorrow about the reactions to his words. He neither took back what he said nor tried to find a way of making his words less offensive, although this is what was urgently needed... A pope is not a scholar who can philosophise about things without thinking about the consequences." (18/09/2006)

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All available articles from » Monika Kappus

Pawel Lisicki, the newspaper's new editor in chief, recommends that the Pope take a hard line on Muslims. "Muslims, or at least the leading figures of the Muslim community, are not interested in establishing dialogue – a discussion in which two sides put forward their arguments – with the church. They just want Christians to capitulate. They're simply not interested in free discussion without the use of violence, something of which the West is rightly proud. The different churches and governments of the West should rethink their strategy regarding Muslims. They should at least demand that Christians living in Islamic countries be granted the same rights and freedoms as Muslims who live in the West… They should also make symbolic gestures to show that the times of lenience have come to an end. Pope Benedict XVI should respond to the Turkish prime minister's words by cancelling his visit to that country." (18/09/2006)

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All available articles from » Pawel Lisicki

The current storm in the media is characteristic of our times, writes Henrik Brun, head of the daily's foreign policy department, adding that the Pope could have foreseen that his remarks would trigger serious controversy. "Both the cartoon row and the current Pope scandal clearly illustrate that the rash reactions of modern media increase the potential for misunderstandings, in particular regarding religious issues. This is firstly because religion is a sensitive issue for many people, and secondly because religious messages depend very much on how they are interpreted by those who receive them. Without questioning the Pope's right to freedom of opinion or wishing to pronounce judgement on the speech he delivered in Regensburg, in this case one can nonetheless seriously doubt whether he was aware of how the global media functions in 2006." (18/09/2006)

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All available articles from » Henrik Brun

"By quoting Manuel II Paleologue, the Christian emperor of Constaniople who stigmatised the violence of the prophet Mohammed, Benoit XVI has succumbed to the temptation of regaining his role of professor of theology who, to capture the attention of his students, thrusts out quotes that are at once erudite and provocative", considers Jean-Noel Cuenod. "If this attitude is perfectly acceptable within the boundaries of a seminary or in an academic debate, it is no longer so when there is an intervention - by the leader of one of the largest Christian faiths - on the tumultuous terrain of the media. In this space where there is no room for turning back, prudence is more than a cardinal virtue. It is an ardent duty. It is evident that Joseph Ratzinger is not yet at ease in the immaculate cassock of Benoit XVI... You cannot judge a pope by his robe any more than a book by its cover.” (18/09/2006)

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All available articles from » Jean-Noël Cuénod

The daily considers that Pope Ratzinger "does not have the refinement of his predecessor Wojtila who would never have committed such a tactless mistake. Because it is evident that, in the current tense international context, with the conflicts in the the Middle East, any spark could provoke a blaze. And that is what has happened. ... Some unforgiving analysts have judged impossible the notion that Benoit XVI did not weigh his words, which signifies that the Pope desired to clearly establish the moral superiority of Catholicism over other religions. It is however foolish to think that an intellectual figure such as Ratzinger could have committed such a faux pas in the light of a dialogue between religions that has been lauded by the Vatican for numerous years." (18/09/2006)

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The Spanish magazine offers a commentary (published by other newspapers before) in which American researchers Timothy Samuel Shah and Monica Duffy Toft analyse the increasing weight of religion in the world. "Global politics is increasingly marked by what could be called 'prophetic politics'. Voices claiming transcendent authority are filling public spaces and winning key political contests. ... The spread of democracy, far from checking the power of militant religious activists, will probably only enhance the reach of prophetic political movements, many of which will emerge from democratic processes more organized, more popular and more legitimate than before – but quite possibly no less violent. Democracy is giving the world's peoples their voice, and they want to talk about God." (18/09/2006)

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All available articles from » Timothy Samuel Shah, » Monica Duffy Toft

"Influence is slowly shifting from the US to Europe so far as the Middle East is concerned," comments Andreas Whittam-Smith, co-founder and chronicler of the daily, evaluating current European intervention in the region. "It is not so much that Europe has become stronger, but that the US appears weaker ... At the same time, a change in the political leadership of America's main allies is under way. First to go was the Spanish Prime Minister, the conservative Jose Maria Aznar. He resigned in 2004 and his party lost the subsequent elections. Then in April 2006, Italy's Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi was also kicked out by the voters. And our own Tony Blair has been given notice to quit by his party ... Their successors will silently acknowledge previous policy failures and adjust accordingly." (18/09/2006)

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All available articles from » Andreas Whittam-Smith

The centre-right, four-party Alliance for Sweden led by Fredeik Reinfeldt has won a narrow victory in Sweden's general elections. Outgoing Prime Minister Goran Persson has conceded his election defeat. The Swedish daily attributes the opposition's success to the fact that it offered voters a clear alternative, whereas right up to the very end of the election campaign Mr. Persson failed to make it clear with whom he would form a coalition if he won the elections. "This is how the question of government became the Alliance's trump card. The other reason for the opposition's victory was Goran Persson himself. He was far too dominant in government... Power deforms those who wield it in the long term. It accentuates their faults and deprives the leadership of its openness and dynamic force. One of the main reasons why the Social Democrats lost control in the issue of unemployment, which was one of the main issues for voters, was that they had a prime minister who acted as if jobs would appear out of thin air and unemployment was therefore no longer a problem. Voters weren't prepared to let him get away with that." (18/09/2006)

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Heribert Prantl says it would be unwise to underestimate the repercussions of the right-wing extremist NPD party gaining seats in the regional parliament of the German state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. "Germany is, after all, in the same situation as an alcoholic who once again reaches for the bottle after a long period of abstinence. This makes it problematic to just wait for the neo-Nazis to succumb to their own stupidity... All Europe's right-wing extremist and centre-right parties harbour fears about foreign infiltration, however most of them don't talk about preserving the race, as the classical right-wing extremists do, but about preserving the national culture and identity. Most of them try to avoid appearing excessively extremist. They use the ideology of right-wing extremists but they're not militant. The NPD, on the other hand, is militant – and only tries to conceal that when it suits it purposes. The NPD uses blatantly national socialist rhetoric." (18/09/2006)

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All available articles from » Heribert Prantl

"Europe is an issue that both Tories and Labour willfully ignore, yet it affects us all so much," reflects Peter Preston former editor and regular chronicler of the Guardian. "Mr Brown has a habit of not mentioning Europe. ... His current dissertations on Britishness stop short at Dover. But still, when you glance at any day's news agenda, any selection of issues that land on Downing Street's mat, the omission ranks somewhere south of bizarre. ... And David Cameron's position, if anything, is even odder. ... His future forgets how swiftly the offer of membership raised and cemented freedoms across eastern Europe. It barely nods towards the transformation of Romania and Bulgaria. It doesn't develop the broad, vibrant, symbolic case for an Ankara inside the EU. It cannot afford to make Europe important, because otherwise Conservative wounds will start bleeding again." (18/09/2006)

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The people of the unrecognised Moldavian Republic of Transnistria, which is mainly inhabited by Ukrainians and Russians, have voted last week-end in a referendum in favour of independence - with the aim of subsequently joining Russia. However, the EU and the OSCE have made it clear they won't recognise the results of the referendum. The newspaper also adopts the view that Transnistria cannot use the case of Montenegro as a precedent. "Over the past 15 years, Russia has exploited several conflicts on CIS territory to increase its influence over neighbouring states. This is what it's trying to do now. Moscow doesn't really care about the results of the referendum or a union with Transnistria - it just wants to maintain its influence in Ukraine and Moldavia." (18/09/2006)

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In an interview with Daniel Vernet, the Finnish political scientist and diplomat Max Jakobson explains why the Finish population barely counts 1% of foreigners. "It is a traditional attitude to shelter the Finnish nation from foreign contributions. After over a century of Tsarist domination, the Russian population of the Grand Duchy of Finland did not surpass 0.5%! And even if our elites then rigorously followed Russian principles, we did not want Russians here. This sort of fundamental attitude seems to be perpetuating itself. Yet we need more immigrants, because our population is aging. ...Political leaders and industrial areas agree on this necessity to open up our borders. Yet no decision is being made. We do not know where to find these migrants. The Polish and the Baltic are emigrating to Western Europe, to Great Britain. They are not coming here." (18/09/2006)

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Oriana Fallaci has died aged 77 on September 15th in Florence, her home town. Journalist and war reporter at the time of the Vietnam War, she was known around the world for her vehement essays that provoked criticism the world over. The journalist and philosopher Giancarlo Bosetti looks back on the polemics that she triggered-off. "Invective force was one of the secrets of her books' success. She declared war not only on Islamic terrorism, but on Muslim religion itself and on immigrants in themselves ... . Oriana Fallaci pushed subjective writing to its extreme. Subjective in the sense of the new journalism of Norman Mailer, Truman Capote or Tom Wolf, in the vein of writing that plunges the reader into the heart of the author's positions, into his/her mind ...". (16/09/2006)

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All available articles from » Giancarlo Bosetti

Roger Pierre Turine payed a visit to Dusseldorf's Kustsammlung, which is exhibiting sixty or so works by the British painter Francis Bacon (1909-1992) until January 7th. "The pleasure of rediscovering Bacon such as he forged himself from within, by dwelling upon the individual's confined place in a universe that is closed beyond measure, is reinforced by the presence, at least among his early works, of paintings that have been rarely if ever put on show. ... Bacon was aware of the force and impact of volumes within their own radiance! It will come as no surprise that this major painter of 20th century art sometimes referred to the dynamics of Muybridge. These paintings, dedicated to Van Gogh, do not rank as masterpieces, but they are impressive for their fusion of colour. If, as Van Gogh said, red and green express terrible human passions, then Bacon remembered." (18/09/2006)

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All available articles from » Roger Pierre Turine

During a recent visit to Berlin, the Czech Republic's new foreign minister, Alexandr Vondra, suggested to his German colleague Frank-Walter Steinmeier that they form a "beer alliance" to counteract Brussels' campaign to make the beverage more expensive. Anneke Hudalla comments. "I have nothing against beer and nothing against the Czech government wanting to protect the interests of its citizens. The European Commission wants to increase taxes on alcoholic beverages and no Czech can be happy about that. Vondra is very aware of this. He says that the gap between what the elite thinks and what the rest of the EU's population thinks is growing. He wants the EU and its citizens to grow closer. That's a good thing, as long as it doesn't lead to the Czech Republic's Europolitics being defined by the voice of the people through populist government." (18/09/2006)

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All available articles from » Anneke Hudalla