The Pope got used

He was used by muslim extremist to further their cause; he was selectively quoted, then ignored when he explained himself. Yes, of course it's partly his fault. However, the situation should not be happening the way it has been.
Lets review, shall we?

Here are some recent headlines:

Pope Benedict: 'God's Rottweiler' Turned Softie? - at ABCNEWS.com - Wed, Apr 19, 2006

Pope Benedict Confounds Critics with Kinder, Gentler Image - at Deutsche Welle - Wed, Apr 19, 2006

Then, he quotes an emperor from the 14th-15th century as an example of the kind of speach people need to avoid, and he gets blamed for espousing the beliefs of the guy. How is that fair? His speach was about the dangers of fundamentalism and violence for all religions. He was calling for greater dialogue and communication.

Then, he gets selectively quoted by someone trying to sell newspapers/make the pope look bad, and now there are people telling muslims that the pope hates all muslims and wants to start another crusade. I can't blame the people for getting pissed off, but I do blame the people ignoring what the Pope was actually saying and then ignoring the clarifications put out by his office and him.

It's very ironic that a speach designed to help avoid religious conflict has help to fan the fires of fundamentalism and extremism.

Check here for more coverage, it's where I found all my facts.