Pope Benedict XVI condemns religious terrorism in the name of God

POPE Benedict XVI has condemned religiously-motivated terrorism at a meeting with 300 leaders of world religions in Assisi aimed at repudiating violence in the name of God.POPE Benedict XVI said, “We know that terrorism is often religiously motivated and that the specifically religious character of the attacks is proposed as a justification for the reckless cruelty that considers itself entitled to discard the rules of morality for the sake of the intended 'good'.
"This is not the true nature of religion. It is the antithesis of religion and contributes to its destruction," he added during the day of inter religious council held in St Francis of Assisi's birthplace in northern Italy yesterday.

More than 50 Islamic representatives were attending the talks as well as Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, a Zoroastrian, a Bahai and representatives of Taoism, Confucianism and traditional religions from Africa and America.The pontiff admitted that Christians were guilty of having used violence in the name of God in the past."It is true, in the course of history; force has also been used in the name of the Christian faith. We acknowledge it with great shame. But it is absolutely clear that this was an abuse of the Christian faith," he said.He also called on all those present to "try to identify the new faces of violence and discord more closely."The event marks the 25th anniversary of the first interreligious meeting in Assisi, organised by John Paul II in 1986, and is intended to be a "journey of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world". For the first time, four atheists will also attend the meeting, which is being criticized by Catholic fundamentalists who are strongly against the idea of dialogue with other religions.

Iran's supreme leader warns US over assassination allegations

On Sunday 16th Oct Iran's supreme leader warned the United States for any measures taken against Tehran over an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington would draw out a "resolute" response.Two men, including a member of the Iranian special foreign actions unit known as the Quds Force, have been charged in New York federal court with plot to kill the Saudi diplomat, Adel Al-Jubeir. U.S. officials have said no one was ever in any immediate danger from the plot.The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated that, “if U.S. officials have some delusions, (they must) know that any unsuitable act, whether political or security, will meet a resolute response from the Iranian nation".
Iran also demanded that a diplomat be allowed to visit one of the men in prison. Khamenei's comments may reflect Iranian concerns that Washington would use the Al-Jubeir case to ratchet up sanctions and recruit international allies to try to further isolate Tehran.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been blunt in saying the United States would use the allegations as leverage with other countries that have been reluctant to apply cruel sanctions or penalties against Iran."By attributing an absurd and meaningless accusation to a few Iranians, they tried ... to show that Iran is a supporter of terrorism. ... This conspiracy didn't work and won't work," he said. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for his part, dismissed the U.S. accusations as a fabricated "scenario." Iranian lawmakers and analysts have said Iran would not benefit from killing the Saudi ambassador in Washington, even if it might have sought to punish its Saudi rivals for intervening in Bahrain to crush a Shiite-led uprising there. Majority Shiite Iran regarded with deep suspicion on the Arab side of the Gulf, which is largely Sunni.

"The Americans seek to close the circle around Iran at the international level. ... It's a prelude to transferring Iran's dossier to the U.N. Security Council," he said in comments posted on the fararu.com news website Sunday.