Explosives hurled at Gaza church
Assailants hurl three explosives devices at Greek Orthodox church; Pope to meet Muslim envoys
Three small explosives were thrown at a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza city Friday, a church official said.
A church official in Gaza City, Nabil Ayad, said one bomb was thrown at the facade of the church, shattering glass windows of a nearby van. The main entrance was blackened.
Two other small bombs were thrown inside the church compound, Ayad said. The extent of damage was not clear yet, Ayad, the caretaker of the church said. There were no reports of injuries.
Earlier in the week, protesters attacked seven churches in the West Bank and Gaza, causing little damage and no injuries. A group claiming responsibility for some of the attacks said it was protesting remarks about Islam by Pope Benedict XVI that many Muslims view as disparaging.
Pope steps up olive branch policy
Pope Benedict XVI has stepped up his olive branch diplomatic campaign after his remarks on violence and Islam, inviting Muslim envoys to meet with him on Monday for what the Holy See says is urgently needed
dialogue.
Benedict's attempt to talk through the crisis, which was ignited by his remarks about Islam and violence during his pilgrimage this month to his German homeland, comes as Christian-Muslim tensions exploded in Indonesia over the executions of three Roman Catholic militants in that largely Muslim nation. Benedict had appealed last month to Indonesia to spare the men.
The Vatican said Friday that the pope had invited ambassadors to the Holy See from largely Muslim countries to his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome.
Also invited to the session at the papal palace were leaders of the Muslim community in Italy, who have advised the Italian government on politically delicate issues of Muslim integration in the largely Catholic country.
Benedict's chief aide on inter-religious dialogue, French Cardinal Paul Poupard, will also participate.
Because of the Muslim holy day Friday, many diplomatic officials could not be immediately contacted.
The embassy of Turkey said its ambassador would attend, and Iran said its charge d'affaires would participate.
The invitation "will help clear the field of misunderstandings," Indonesia's ambassador, Bambang Prayitno, told the Apcom news agency.
Vatican Radio described the meeting as an "appointment totally dedicated to the urgency for dialogue today, between the cultures and religions of all the world, as Benedict XVI has repeatedly reiterated."
