VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, in a clear reference to the controversy over caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad (S), said on Monday that the world's religions and their symbols had to be respected.

But in a speech to the new Moroccan ambassador to the Holy See, Benedict warned that violent protests against a perceived offence were wrong.

"...In order to promote peace and understanding between peoples and mankind, it is both vital and urgent that religions and their symbols are respected and that believers are not the object of provocations that wound their religious feelings," he said.

"However, intolerance and violence can never be justified as a response to any offence, because it is a response that is incompatible with the sacred principles of religion," he added.

Cartoons first published last year in a Danish newspaper and since reprinted in other European papers have sparked worldwide protests by Muslims who believe it is blasphemous to depict the Prophet.

Some demonstrations have turned violent, raising fears of a clash of civilizations between the West and Islam.