Pope Francis’ recent apostolic journey to Turkey, from 28 to 30 November was marked by a number of significant gestures and overtures that emanate a sense of hope for future ecumenical and Catholic-Muslim relations.
The Pontiff’s three-day visit began with a visit to the Ataturk mausoleum in Ankara, where he laid a wreath of flowers and left the following message in the building’s the Golden Book.
“I make my most sincere vows for Turkey, a natural bridge between two continents, to be not only a crossroad of paths but also a place of meeting and dialogue and serene coexistence among men and women of good will of every culture, ethnicity and religion,” he said.
The Pope’s hopes to see Turkey as a bridge between not only the two continents of Europe and Asia but also between cultures and religions, marked his subsequent visit to the new presidential palace in Ankara, where he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and selected dignitaries.
In his speech, Pope Francis laid emphasis on the need for “a dialogue which can deepen our understanding and appreciation of the many things we hold in common.”
He also spoke of the requirement that all citizens are equal before the law and enjoy equal freedom of belief and expression, which is particularly pertinent to Turkey.
The Pope laid further emphasis on the need to patiently move towards lasting peace, which he believes can only come once prejudices and unwarranted fears are overcome and if the fundamental right and duties rooted in the dignity of each person are respected.
“To this end,” he stated, “it is essential that all citizens – Muslim, Jewish and Christian – both in the provision and practice of the law, enjoy the same rights and respect the same duties. They will then find it easier to see each other as brothers and sisters who are travelling the same path, seeking always to reject misunderstandings and promoting cooperation and concord. Freedom of religion and freedom of expression, when truly guaranteed to each person, will help friendship to flourish and thus become an eloquent sign of peace.”
In light of the growing conflicts in the Middle-East, the Pope’s words appear as particularly relevant and seek to build unity on common ground shared by different religions.
At a subsequent meeting with the Presidency of Religious Affairs, Turkey’s highest Islamic (Sunni) body responsible to the prime minister, Pope Francis spoke of the human tragedies that are resulting from that fanatical violence of fundamentalists in neighbouring Iraq and Syria, causing millions to flee for their lives.
He praised the Turkish people for all that they’re doing to help these refugees and he said Christian and Muslim leaders must do more to find solutions to the region’s problems. “How much longer must the Middle East suffer the consequences of this lack of peace?” Francis asked, adding that we must never resign ourselves to war and conflict.
On the second day of his trip Pope Francis travelled to Istanbul, a city where Christian culture once flourished. Here, he visited the Hagia Sophia Museum, originally built as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the sixth century before being converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest in 1453, and the Blue Mosque (also known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque), where he met with Istanbul’s grand mufti Rahmi Yaran. In the Blue Mosque, the grand mufti led Francis to the mosque’s “mihrab,” a niche indicating the direction to the holy city Mecca. He explained that the name is related to that of Jesus’s mother, Mary, who is revered by Muslims. Then, as the grand mufti continued speaking, the pope fell silent and remained so for several minutes, with head bowed, eyes closed and hands clasped in front of him. A Vatican statement later described this as a “moment of silent adoration.”
On the final day of his visit, Francis attended a divine liturgy led by Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. One of the primary reasons for Francis’ visit was to strengthen the relationship with the Orthodox Church after a schism dating back to 1054.
In a joint declaration, Bartholomew and the leader of the world’s Catholics pledged to support Christians in the Middle East, saying they could not let Christianity be driven out of the region.
The two leaders also issued resounding and historic calls for the reunification of their global communities. Francis made what appears to be the strongest and most encompassing call yet from a Catholic Pontiff for unity. Seeking to assure Orthodox leaders that restoration of full communion between the churches would respect Eastern traditions, he said reunion would “not signify the submission of one to the other, or assimilation.”
Pope Francis left aboard the papal plane in the early evening, also finding time to address around 100 refugees displaced by the violence in Iraq and Syria.
With Catholic News Service and AsiaNews.it