"State Dept. Daily Press Briefing September 20 2006
Thursday, 21 September 2006, 12:03 pm
Press Release: US State Department
Daily Press Briefing
Tom Casey, Deputy Spokesman
Washington, DC
September 20, 2006
QUESTION: Yes, on the Pope. The head of (inaudible) says, Mr. Casey, requests yesterday that the Department of Justice in Turkey that the Pope Benedict, head of the Catholic Church, must be arrested upon his arrival in Turkey during the upcoming visit in November and should be tried and punished because the Pope, with his illicit remarks about Islam violated several statutes of the Turkish law, encouraging discrimination based on religion, including Islam and Prophet Mohammed. Any comment?
MR. CASEY: I haven't seen those remarks, Mr. Lambros. Obviously, we've spoken to this issue before. What we believe is important and appropriate is for representatives of all religions to work together to help promote tolerance and to promote a culture of freedom of religion. That is what is important to us. "
More:Scoop: State Dept. Daily Press Briefing September 20 2006