Pope lauds Italian nun slain in Somalia

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By MARINA SAPIA, Associated Press Writer

Sun Sep 24, 4:52 PM ET

 

 

 

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday praised an Italian nun for pardoning her killers as she lay dying from an attack in Somalia that may have been linked to worldwide Muslim anger about his remarks on Islam and violence.

 

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Benedict spoke to pilgrims at his Castel Gandolfo summer palace where he will meet Monday with ambassadors from predominantly Muslim countries in an effort to defuse tensions arising from a speech he gave Sept. 12 while on a pilgrimage in Germany.

 

Rosa Sgorbati, an Italian missionary who worked in a pediatrics hospital in Somalia's capital Mogadishu under her religious name Sister Leonella, was shot by two gunmen on Sept. 17, the day Benedict apologized for offending Muslims. Her bodyguard also was killed.

 

Speaking Sunday about the need to overcome selfishness, Benedict cited Sgorbati's slaying.

 

"Some are asked to give the supreme testimony of blood, as it happened a few days ago to the Italian nun, Sister Leonella Sgorbati, who fell victim to violence," the pontiff said.

 

"This nun, who for many years served the poor and the children in Somalia, died pronouncing the word 'pardon,'" the pope told pilgrims during his traditional Sunday noon appearance. "This is the most authentic Christian testimony, a peaceful sign of contradiction which shows the victory of love over hate and evil."

 

In the pope's controversial speech in Germany, Benedict quoted the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith."

 

The pontiff has stressed that the words he spoke did not reflect his own opinion.

 

Among the countries expected to send a representative to meet with the pope Monday was Indonesia, where Christian-Muslim tensions were sharpened last week by the execution of three Catholic militants. Benedict last month had appealed to Indonesia to spare the men.

 

Representatives from Iran, Egypt, Turkey and other nations are also expected to attend.

 

The Vatican's spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, told reporters Sunday there were "expectations for a cordial meeting." He also said the meeting "certainly is a sign that dialogue is returning to normal after moments of disturbance, of misunderstanding in the past days."

 

French Cardinal Paul Poupard, the Vatican's top official on dialogue among religions, told Rome daily La Repubblica at least 18 ambassadors assured the Vatican they would come to what he said "will be, without a doubt, a profound and emotional meeting."

 

Amid the fury over Benedict's remarks on Islam, the Vatican also ordered papal representatives around the globe to meet with leaders of Muslim countries to explain the pope's point of view and the full context of his speech.