The Vatican (this is no longer just the Pope talking) is trying to get away with a non-apology apology, to appease the Islamic world’s violent temper tantrums: Pope ‘deeply sorry’ for Muslim fury.

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Rome (CNN) — Pope Benedict XVI has said he is “deeply sorry” for the reaction to his comments on Islam and said a quote he used from a medieval text about holy wars did not reflect his personal thoughts.

The pope’s speech in Germany last week — in which he appeared to endorse a Christian view, contested by most Muslims, that early Muslims spread their religion by violence — has sparked protests around the world. [Note to CNN: you’re disgusting. It’s not “a Christian view” that Islam was spread by the sword, it’s a historical fact. And it’s not even “contested by most Muslims.” Western media is now in the business of deliberately obscuring facts. —ed.]

“I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims,” the pope said in his regular Sunday blessing, the Angelus, at his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, southeast of Rome.

“This was a quote from a medieval text which does not express in any way my personal thoughts.”

The pope told pilgrims he hoped his remarks now and an explanation by the Vatican Saturday were enough to “placate spirits and give the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was an attempt to frankly and sincerely express my great reciprocal and mutual respect with the Muslim faith.”

This is exactly the wrong way to go, for one simple reason. It won’t work. Islamists can tell the difference between diplomatic words and true surrender, and they want the Pope to utterly abase himself.

It would be far better to stand up, and speak truth about the Muslim world’s insane reaction to his speech. The Pope actually has a golden opportunity right now to bring these issues to the forefront of the public dialog, but it looks like he’s not going to use it.