Pope Francis has called for religious tolerance to counter extremism in the Middle East.<br /><br />The pontiff made the comments during a speech with Turkey’s top cleric on Friday at the start of his visit to the predominantly Muslim country.<br /><br />He had strong words for Islamist militants fighting in Iraq and Syria.<br /><br />“Any violence looking for religious justification deserves the strongest condemnation because the omnipotent is the God of life and peace,” he said.<br /><br />Earlier on, meeting with President Erdogan at his lavish 1,000 room palace, he said that lasting peace in the battle against fundamentalism could only be found by tackling poverty.<br /><br />The pope began his three day trip with a visit to the tomb of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded the modern secular Turkish state in 1923.<br /><br />He will travel to Istanbul on Saturday to meet with Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of some 300 million Orthodox Christians.
