Some Muslims somewhere can be relied on to burn the pope in effigy in the street, or flock around cameras chanting for holy war, and *this* will be the implicit support for the pope's argument. "Look at the crazies," is the implication, "they aren't rational. We are because... did I mention the crazies? Look at the crazies."
As much as I find the whole the concept of "The Church" to be taken completely out of context and that I particularly find this Pope less than appealing, what he stated was not as grievous as some Muslims have portrayed it.
I think Tusko may be right that it was a tactical maneuver on the part of the Catholic Church to get them to behave exactly the way he suspected they would-- with violence. I have always found it either to be profoundly ironic or profoundly stupid for certain Muslims to act the one way they claim not to be-- violent. Time and time again, someone mentions the umentionable, that certain Muslims behave fanatical and violent. They get offended by the assertion only to act out in the exact manner that offended them to begin with, thus, making their opposition sit pretty in their decision. The Catholic Church was probably banking that, as they no doubt, see Islam as a festering wound that is in dire need of an antiseptic before a pandemic occurs.
He knows that they are helpless not to rise to even a veiled slight to the prophet, so he uses it to serve his agenda.
I agree that this has all the trappings of an agenda; as if he needed to do this; as if their behavior wasn't apparent before his remarks. I don't know how overt it was but their had to be some reason in mentioning it publicly.
"There is not in all America a more dangerous trait than the deification of mere smartness unaccompanied by any sense of moral responsibility." -Theodore Roosevelt
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