- guardian.co.uk, Monday October 2 2000 11.35 BST
The Pope said that last month's text establishing the primacy of the Catholic church was not "arrogance that deprecates other religions but an expression of joyous gratitude".
The declaration, which appalled Protestants because it implied that they had "defects", had been misunderstood, he said.
"It's my hope that this declaration that I hold dear, after many mistaken interpretations, can finally serve its function as clarification and at the same time as an overture."
The Archbishop of Canterbury had led a chorus of criticism that the document had set back ecumenicism. Jews and Muslims, who were said to be in a gravely deficient situation, were also offended. A day to mark Christian-Jewish dialogue was cancelled.
Speaking to pilgrims in St Peter's Square, the Pope quashed suggestions that conservatives had rammed the text through the Vatican against his wishes. It was "approved by me", he said.
However, his conciliatory words were undermined by Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, a traditionalist and possible papal successor, who called for Italy's mosques to be closed.
Muslims should not be entitled to worship in Italy as long as Saudi Arabia and other countries prevented Christians from practising, he said.
Italy's swelling Muslim population was quietly waiting to become a majority and would then attempt to usurp the country's traditional Catholic identity, the archbishop of Bologna claimed. They were "outside our humanity", he added.
