STEVE INSKEEP, host:
Looks like the pope got the last word in a battle with professors and students at Rome University. Pope Benedict XVI was supposed to appear at the university yesterday but he cancelled when he heard students were planning to protest. Some students and professors said the pope's views are reactionary and anti-science.
But the pope was the star of the show anyway, as NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports.
SYLVIA POGGIOLI: Pope Benedict was not physically present, but his persona was the main theme of the entire ceremony - the official opening of the academic year at Rome University, the largest public university in Europe. And after the pope's speech was read by a faculty member, the audience gave Benedict a standing ovation.
(Soundbite of applause)
POGGIOLI: And a group of Catholic students shouted viva il Papa. The pope decided late Tuesday not to attend the event. An official statement said he didn't want to create a pretext for further unpleasant protests by those opposed to a religious leader speaking at a secular campus.
Last November, nearly 70 physics professors had written a letter to the university chancellor, saying they were opposed to Benedict's invitation because of the pope's views on science. They cited a speech then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger made in 1990 suggesting the 1633 heresy trial of the astronomer Galileo for teaching that the Earth revolved around the sun was reasonable and fair. The letter was leaked to the media earlier this week and led to a firestorm of criticism. The contents were said to smack of censorship and an assault on free speech.
At the ceremony, Fabio Mussi, the Italian minister in charge of universities and research, and a former communist, spoke out in favor of the pope.
Mr. FABIO MUSSI (Minister of Universities and Research, Italy): (Through translator) I'm not a believer. I'm not a member of the Catholic Church. And I do not understand - I do not understand - why Pope Benedict cannot be here in person to deliver a speech he wrote for this ceremony at Rome University.
POGGIOLI: Speech after speech lamented the incident, which everyone attributed to the intolerance of a small minority. But physics Professor Andrea Frova, one of the signers of the letter, said Pope Benedict's invitation to attend an academic event at a secular institution was inopportune.
Professor ANDREA FROVA (University La Sapienza): (Through translator) He is the leader of the Catholic Church, while here we are in a secular university where there are students who are Indian, Muslim, Jewish, Protestant, of all religions, and non-believers.
POGGIOLI: The controversy comes at a time of fierce debate about what many see as Benedict's increasing interference in the Italian political and social sphere. Since his election nearly three years ago, Benedict has been waging a vocal campaign against abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research in Italy. And his speeches and public appearances are extensively covered by Italian state-run TV.
(Soundbite of protesters)
POGGIOLI: The tensions between Italy's Catholic and secular factions was highlighted by the huge deployment of police inside and outside the university campus, as a few hundred students on both sides of the ideological spectrum staged demonstrations.
But the biggest turnout is expected on Sunday. Cardinal Camillo Ruini, head of the Rome diocese, has invited all Romans to gather in St. Peter's Square to show their support for Benedict XVI.
Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.