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Catholic World News News Feature

Pope reflects on trip to Turkey December 06, 2006

Pope Benedict XVI devoted his general audience on December 6 to a report on his visit to Turkey, saying that he saw the voyage as a mission first to Catholics, then to other Christians, and finally to the world at large.

The Pope disclosed that the most memorable moment of his trip-- his silent prayer at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul-- was an unplanned event. He did not recite any particular prayer, he said, but offered a spontaneous meditation “to the one Lord of heaven and earth.”

The Holy Father explained his approach by describing the trip in terms of three concentric circles. In the inner circle, he said, “Peter’s successor confirms Catholics in the faith. In the intermediate circle he meets other Christians. And in the outer circle he addresses non-Christians and humanity entire."

The visit to Turkey was important, the Pope said, because that country “is emblematic of the great challenge facing the world today.” That challenge, he continued, is the search for a proper balance: ensuring religious freedom for all people while “repudiating all forms of violence and not degenerating into fundamentalism."

The Pope continued to emphasize the importance of religious freedom-- a subject on which he had pressed Turkish political leaders before and during his visit. Regarding relations with Islam, he said that it is imperative for Christians and Muslims to “commit themselves jointly to the cause of life, peace, and justice.”

During his visit to the Blue Mosque, when the Grand Mufti of Istanbul intoned a prayer, the Pope told his audience that he made “an unplanned gesture-- but one that revealed itself as particularly significant.” His silent prayer, he indicated, was a testimony to the potential for inter-religious dialogue: a message to the outermost circle that he had described.

The “intermediate circle” was the main focus of the trip, the Pope reminded his audience, emphasizing the importance of his meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew I, and their “mutual commitment to continue along the path toward the re-establishment of full communion.”

The “innermost circle” was represented by the Pope’s meetings with Turkey’s tiny Catholic community, for whom he celebrated Mass twice during his stay. He recalled that “in a climate of peace, we prayed for peace-- in the Holy Land and in the whole world.”

The Wednesday audience was divided into two sections. First the Pontiff met in the Vatican basilica with pilgrims from Italy’s Lazio region, accompanied by their bishops, who are completing their ad limina visit to Rome. Then Pope Benedict moved to the Paul VI auditorium, where he met with about 15,000 people.