That low number is connected directly to many of Benedict's long-expressed concerns about Islam. He often urges people not to forget the Christian roots of a Europe with fewer practicing Christians and more Muslim immigrants, more than 4 million here in Germany alone.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, the chief Vatican spokesman, said that Benedict's comments were not meant as any statement on Islam, but only as a small example, at the beginning of four tightly packed pages of text, of his argument of the dangers of the separation of reason and religion.

"I believe that everyone understands, even inside Islam, there are many different positions, and there are many positions that aren't violent," Lombardi said. "Here, certainly, the pope doesn't want to give a lesson, let's say, an interpretation of Islam, as violent.

"He is saying, in the case of a violent interpretation of religion, we are in a contradiction with the nature of God and the nature of the soul," he said.

In the weeks after John Paul's death in April 2005, Islam and how to confront terrorism seemed key issues in the selection of a new pope. As a candidate, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who took the name Benedict after his election, embodied the more-skeptical school inside the Vatican.

Unlike John Paul, Ratzinger did not approve of joint prayers with Muslims and was skeptical of the value of interreligious dialogue with a faith of many shadings and few representative leaders to speak with.

In 2004, he caused a stir by opposing membership in the European Union for Turkey, saying that it "always represented another continent throughout history, in permanent contrast with Europe." He has not repeated this opinion since he became pope, and he is scheduled to visit there in November.

Once he became pope, Benedict's new approach was apparent quickly: In his first trip outside Italy, he met with Muslim leaders in Cologne, Germany, and politely but clearly told them they had the responsibility to teach their children against terrorism, which he called "the darkness of a new barbarism." He said Catholics and Muslims had the obligation to meet and to overcome differences.

At the end of that summer, he devoted an annual weekend of study with former graduate students to the issue of Islam. In that meeting, and since, he has reportedly expressed skepticism about Islam's openness to change, given the Islamic view of the Quran as the unchangeable word of God.

As such, and despite Benedict's call for dialogue in the speech on Tuesday, several experts said they did not expect much real progress under Benedict in bridging the gap between Christians and Muslims.

"I expect that he will not push us very far in the way of dialogue," said Guolo, the Padua professor. "He has too many doubts."