A top Catholic cardinal shook hands with Italian Jewish and Muslim leaders on Tuesday after a meeting in Rome aimed at lessening tensions over the pope's recent comments on Islam .
The inter-religious meeting was organised by Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni in order to create an image of dialogue that would contrast with the continuing furore in parts of the Muslim world over Benedict's speech a week ago .
"At this difficult moment our presence here is an invitation to authentic dialogue between those who believe in one God," said Cardinal Paul Poupard, head of the Vatican department for inter-religious dialogue .
"The alternative to terrorism and violence is dialogue and this path passes via the recognition of differences," he continued .
There were few explicit public references to the remarks with which the pope provoked the anger of many Muslims who accused him of portraying Islam as a violent faith .
Abdallah Redouane, head of the Islamic cultural centre in Rome, said: "As far as we are concerned, we consider this chapter closed. Now we must look to the future" .
Sami Salem, Imam of Rome mosque, who on Monday said the pope's words had "set us back many years", indicated that dialogue still had a long way to go. But he too stressed his commitment to it .
"I hope for a future in which the representatives of every religion can be proud and enjoy the respect they deserve. I hope for a future of dialogue. I am here. We are always ready for dialogue," he said .
'TWO WORLDS TALKING' .
Riccardo Di Segni, Rome's chief rabbi, hinted that talk at the meeting had been difficult but he said he was encouraged to see the openness on both the Catholic and Muslim sides. "What happened can be seen as a sign of two worlds trying to talk to each other. Things don't always go perfectly when you're testing communications channels," he said .
In another Italian political bid to ease Christian-Muslim tensions, Deputy Foreign Minister Ugo Intini met the ambassadors of Arab countries in Rome on Monday and urged collaboration in the name of dialogue .
Meanwhile, the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, sent a second letter to the pope on Tuesday, after an earlier one in which he invited Benedict to "respect" the values of Islam .
The new letter from the monarch, who considers himself a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed, came after the pope's Sunday address in which he said he was "deeply sorry" over the offence caused to Muslims .
The second missive was "friendly", Italian foreign ministry sources said .
