Pope has say in row with Rome university scientists

Pope Benedict XVI was to have said he is the "voice of moral reason" in a speech at Rome's secular La Sapienza university, cancelled in the face of protests by professors, according to a text released Wednesday by the Vatican.

The text was released the day after the head of the Roman Catholic Church cancelled an appearance at the prestigious university in the face of protests by physicists and students who claimed his presence was inappropriate in a secular setting.

The protesters were especially opposed to a papal appearance on the day - Thursday - that the huge university was to launch a new academic year amid traditional pomp and ceremony.

"The pope, as pastor of his community, has become more and more a voice of humanity's moral reason," Benedict was to have said in the speech, adding: "The wisdom of great religious traditions ... cannot be thrown into the dustbin of the history of ideas with impunity."

Rome, Thursday, AFP