MOSCOW, April 3 (RIA Novosti) - John Paul II was the only Catholic leader to have offered a public apology for the Crusades, noted Ravil Gainutdin, Chief Mufti of Russia, as he expressed his condolences to the world's Roman Catholic community, mourning the death of their Holy Father.
During John Paul II's papacy, the relations between Roman Catholics and Moslems "became closer, including between Vatican ministers in Moscow and the Russian Muftis Board," Sheik Gainutdinov pointed out.
As part of the Christian tradition, Catholicism is a monotheistic religion; the Roman Catholics believe in the Scriptures; so "in the days of the Pope's illness and suffering, our hearts were with our Christian brethren," the Russian Moslem leader said.
