Pope Benedict XVI Arrives In Turkey

Say a little prayer for the Pope, who's in Turkey now, where every Islamic Radical wants him dead.

You can find transcripts of his speaches here (hat tip: Wispers in the Logia).

Mary Katerine Ham over at Townhall has a good post on the visit:

The pontiff emphasized the importance of religious freedom in a meeting with a Turkish Islamic cleric:

“Freedom of religion, institutionally guaranteed and effectively respected in practice, both for individuals and communities, constitutes for all believers the necessary condition for their loyal contribution to the building up of society,” the pope said following talks with Ali Bardakoglu, chief of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate.

Benedict has made religious freedom one of the centerpieces of his papacy, and has complained about countries denying full rights to Christians.

The cleric fell back on an old stand-by. "Islamophobia!"

Bardakoglu, at a joint appearance with the pope, said that growing “Islamophobia” hurts all Muslims.

“The so-called conviction that the sword is used to expand Islam in the world and growing Islamophobia hurts all Muslims,” he said.

I wonder where anyone would get that idea.

Here's some more objective coverage from Allah and Robert Spencer (here, here, here and here).