Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday called for a peaceful solution to the widening unrest in Egypt, dpa reported.
The pontiff said he had been carefully following the "fragile situation in the beloved nation of Egypt," and that he was asking God for a return to "peaceful coexistence" in the country that has witnessed days of protests.
In January, Al-Azhar, one of Sunni Islam's oldest universities and mosques, said it had indefinitely suspended inter-faith talks with the Vatican in response to recent remarks by the pope on attacks against Christians in the Middle East.
The decision was taken in light of Benedict's "repeated negative references to Islam and his claims that Muslims persecute those living among them in the Middle East," Al-Azhar said at the time.
Al-Azhar, which is a Cairo-based government institution, and the Vatican have previously cooperated to promote dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
However, relations were shaken when Benedict condemned a New Year's Eve bombing of a Christian Coptic church in Alexandria that killed 23 people.
Egypt subsequently recalled its ambassador to the Vatican following a speech by Benedict to foreign diplomats in which he again referred to the Alexandria attack as well as violence against Christians in Iraq.
According to official figures, Christians comprise between 10-15 per cent of Egypt's population