Comment: Ruth Gledhill's Articles of Faith blog

The Pope was expected to challenge King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia about the severe restrictions on religious freedom for non-Muslims at an historic audience at the Vatican today.

Pope Benedict XVI is understood to be concerned about the rights of Christians in Saudi Arabia and about Muslim-Christian relations. The two states do not have formal diplomatic relations.

This morning's meeting – the first visit by a Saudi monarch to the Vatican – came a little more than a year after the Pope's controversial Regensburg address when he quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor who said that Muhammad had brought only “evil and inhuman” things.

The Pope later expressed regret for any offence his words had caused and a series of subsequent initiatives, including a high-profile visit to Turkey, have led to a rapprochement between the Roman Catholic Church and the Muslim world.

The King — known officially as Custodian of the Sacred Mosques, a title which refers to Mecca and Medina — is regarded as a cautious reformer. He is on the third leg of a European tour, after London and Geneva, and will travel next to Germany and Turkey. About one million Catholics live in Saudi Arabia. Most are immigrant workers from countries such as the Philippines and they suffer severe restrictions on practising their faith. Although permitted to worship in private, public worship is banned along with non-Muslim items of dress such as crucifixes.

This year, the US State Department's annual report on religious freedoms noted some improvement in “specific areas” in Saudi Arabia but said “overall government policies continue to place severe restrictions on religious freedom”.

The report mentioned discrimination against non-Muslims. Other Muslims whose practices vary from the conservative Saudi Wahhabism are also discriminated against.

“Non-Muslims and Muslims who do not adhere to the Government's interpretation of Islam continued to face significant political, economic, legal, social, and religious discrimination,” the report said.

“Charges of harassment, abuse, and even killings at the hands of the muttawa 0religious police) continued to surface. Saudi textbooks continued to contain statements of intolerance.”