Questions and answers at the end of the Pope's visit to Turkey

(Vatican Radio) It's 50 years on since the first Pope and Orthodox Patriarch embraced, as the Second Vatican Council issued its ecumenical decree radically changing the way Catholics related to other Christians. It's also 35 years to the day after the joint Catholic-Orthodox commission of theologians started its work of breaking down the walls of division that had grown up over the past millennium. And so the question on everyone's lips here is how long will it take before the two Churches are reunited? What difference has this papal visit to Turkey made, and how will it help in that long slow process of healing and reconciliation?

During these journeys, it's the head of the Holy See press office, Fr Federico Lombardi who has the unenviable task of formulating responses to such questions and he's certainly not putting any timeframe on the longed-for reconciliation between East and West! There are still plenty of problems inside both the Catholic and Orthodox worlds which need to be worked out with patience and perseverance. In particular, he said he hoped the synod of leaders from around the Orthodox world, planned for 2016 (with Catholic observers possibly in attendance) will help to speed up this ecumenical journey.
What about relations with Islam - the second focus of Francis' visit to this overwhelmingly Muslim country?

That the other question Fr Lombardi's been fielding throughout this 3 day visit and he's been weighing his words with extreme care. Yes, relations with Muslim leaders the Pope met at the Diyanet in Ankara on Friday were friendly and looked forward to new and creative ways of working and and sharing together. Yes, the visit to the Blue Mosque and the ancient Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul, while not a novelty in itself, did encourage trust and open doors to understanding the pain of each other's historical memories. 

But There are of course no overnight, sound bite solutions to the religious tensions which continue to inflame conflicts and claim lives in countries, such as Syria, Iraq, Ukraine and Nigeria, to cite just those places that have been mentioned by name in the speeches and documents of the past three days. 
However the Pope's last brief encounter before leaving Istanbul with people who rarely make the news headlines is the reason why these trips make a difference.

Meeting in the Catholic cathedral with about a hundred refugee youngsters from different countries, the Pope spoke of the suffering and intolerable conditions facing so many victims of war, famine and persecution today He appealed to political leaders to hear the cry of these voiceless people who long for peace, for decent jobs and a safe place to bring up their kids. He's not counting down towards grand goals in days, months or years. Rather he's reminding us that every person counts in the daily dialogue of life that goes on here in Turkey and wherever believers try to put in to practical action the religious values of the faith they profess.