Pope Benedict has said he is sorry for any offence he caused to Muslims in a speech he made this week in Germany.
In a statement, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said: "The Holy Father is very sorry that some passages of his speech may have sounded offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers."
This is Benedict's worst crisis since his election in April 2005, following the death of Pope John Paul II.
The remarks he made related to the Prophet Mohammad and sent shockwaves around the Muslim world.
Thousands took to the streets to protest and in India a crowd of angry demonstrators burnt an effigy of the Pontiff.
Mohammed Habib, deputy leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood told reporters: "We feel he has committed a grave error against us and that this mistake will only be removed through a personal apology."
Here is a summary of the key excerpts from the Pope's speech. I couldn't find a full transcript (the Vatican website is all but useless).
But regardless, from what I've heard/read of the Pope's comments I don't see where he has anything to apologize for. His comments about Islam, both in the context of history and modern Islamic fascism, were pretty much spot-on. He said many of the things that we should all be saying, and many things that Muslims need to hear no matter how angry it may make them.
If I were the Pope I'd have told the Muslim world that I wasn't a bit sorry for my comments and no amount of rioting or violence was going to make me apologize for them. Sadly, that's apparently not the stance he's going to take, and it's just another victory for Muslim fascism.
It's dangerous to back down from the Islamic fascists when they start pulling out their thuggish and violent tactics, and the Pope's apology has just made us all a little bit less safe.