My friend Katie Favazza reminds me that you can e-mail the Pope your support while he's taking heat:
benedictxvi at vatican dot va
I wrote a column today that puts the Pope's comments in context-- something that much of the media has avoided doing. Partly because they just want to take the Islam quotes and run with 'em and partly because the Pope's speech was long, complex, and doesn't lend itself to news copy without major abridging.
I encourage you to read the column or the full text of his speech. It's a fascinating read.