2006-11-28 15:34:56

Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Turkey on four-day pastoral visit.


(Tuesday,28 Nov. 2006):- Pope Benedict XVI arrived on his first visit to a Muslim country in the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday,Nov. 28, after a three hour flight from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport at about 1 p.m. Turkey’s local time. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan met the Pontiff as he stepped off the plane. The two dignitaries shook hands and walked to the heavily guarded airport terminal for a private discussion before Erdogan’s departure for the NATO Summit in Riga. “I want to express happiness to see you and your delegation in our country,” Erdogan told the Pope and he described the Pope’s visit as very meaningful. The Pope had told reporters on board his aircraft that his trip was aimed at improving relations both with Muslims and Orthodox Christians. “I want to underline that this not a political visit.It is a pastoral visit,and as such, has as its definition a determination for dialogue and a common undertaking for peace. Dialogue in many dimensions - between cultures, between Christianity and Islam, dialogue with our Christian brothers, and above all the Orthodox Church of Constantinople and certainly a better understanding between us all”, the Pope said.Last September, Muslims worldwide were infuriated at a controversial lecture the Pope gave at Regensburg University in Germany, that seemed to depict Islam as an irrational religion tainted with violence.The Pope and the Vatican have several times expressed regret at the pain his comments caused, explaining it was not his own opinion but a quotation of the 14th century Byzantine Emperor, who had said that Islam had brought “things only evil and inhuman”. More than 20 thousand Muslims had rallied on Sunday against the Pontiff’s trip in Istanbul but Pope Benedict received a warm reception on his arrival on Tuesday. Turkey is mostly Muslim but the State is officially secular. Turkey has a small minority of Christians -about 30 thousand. Erdogan, a devout Muslim said before the Pope’s arrival that the four-day visit would help contribute to global peace.” We, as a nation will show hospitality to the Pope as befits Turkey. We hope that this important visit will contribute to the search for global peace” Erdogan told members of his AK Party that has roots in Islam. During his Sunday Angelus message Nov. 26, the Pope had asked the faithful to pray that this pilgrimage might yield the fruits that God desires”. The Pontiff’s four-day visit that concludes Fri. 1st Dec., includes stops in Ankara, Ephesus and Istanbul.
Vatican organisers have confirmed that Pope Benedict will visit Istanbul’s famed Blue Mosque, a masterpiece of Islamic architecture, immediately after his stop at the nearby Hagia Sophia on Nov. 30. Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Director of the Vatican Press Office said that Pope Benedict’s visit was intended as a mark of esteem for Islam. The main focus of the Pope’s four-day trip will be talks on Christian unity with Patriarch Bartholomew, Istanbul-based spiritual head of the world’s 250 million Orthodox Christians.








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