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POPE-WELCOME Nov-29-2006 (910 words) Analysis. With photos posted Nov. 28. xxxi
Aides breathe sigh of relief after pope's first day in Turkey
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
ANKARA, Turkey (CNS) -- At the end of a long first day in Turkey, Pope Benedict XVI's aides seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
The local protests had fizzled. The prime minister had shown up to greet the pontiff after all. And the dialogue with Muslims had been honest and cordial -- at some moments, even friendly.
The Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, was smiling as he strolled into the Ankara press center late Nov. 28 for a briefing. The pope's trip, described by many as a difficult and perhaps dangerous mission, had gotten off to a fine start, he said.
"It seemed to us that in recent days the climate for the visit was rapidly improving. Today we had the sensation that the pope was a welcome guest," Father Lombardi said.
Turkish newspaper headlines the next morning confirmed Father Lombardi's impressions.
"A beautiful beginning," was the main headline across Hurriyet, one of the country's leading dailies. "The pope calls Islam a religion of peace."
The pope smiled from the moment Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met him at the foot of his plane, and the 79-year-old pontiff looked at ease as he worked through a series of five major encounters with government officials, Muslim leaders and diplomats -- considered the most delicate events of the trip.
There was some blunt language at the pope's meeting with Ali Bardakoglu, the head of Turkey's religious affairs directorate and the country's highest Muslim authority.
Bardakoglu warned that "Islamophobia" was being fueled by people who connect Islam with violence, an apparent reference to the pope's speech in Regensburg, Germany, last September. In that speech, the pope had quoted a medieval emperor as saying Islam spread its faith "by the sword," although the pope later distanced himself from the comment.
In Ankara, the pope conveyed his respect for Islam but also re-emphasized that rejection of violence was essential for religions if they want to help shape society with moral values.
It was a frank exchange between the pope and his hosts, but it took place in an atmosphere of respect. Father Lombardi said Bardakoglu's speech was "thorough, positive and respectful, never polemical."
Although no one specifically raised the Regensburg speech with the pope, the issues of Regensburg are not taboo, Father Lombardi said -- in fact, they are part of a deeper dialogue that needs to take place.
The important thing, the Vatican spokesman said, was that his Turkish audience responded positively to the pope's argument that religions need to inspire modern cultures with values, reflecting a harmony between reason and faith.
Other Vatican officials beamed with satisfaction.
"We felt strongly how the Turkish government did everything to warm up the atmosphere. This was a very positive day, especially because the meeting with (Bardakoglu) was very cordial," said retired French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who accompanied the pope as a kind of "wise man" of Vatican diplomacy.
Added Cardinal Walter Kasper: "The dialogues were very positive, and it was a day that expressed peace and reconciliation."
The pope helped stir the favorable reception by declaring his esteem for Muslim believers and describing himself as "a friend and an apostle of dialogue and peace." Those simple statements had a long echo in the Turkish media.
Another big reason Turkey warmed to the pope was that he voiced support to Erdogan for Turkey's efforts to enter the European Union. Erdogan lost no time announcing that fact to the media.
Papal aides later confirmed that while the Vatican has no official position on Turkey and EU membership, the pope did want to encourage Turkey's bid to enter the union "on the basis of shared values." That implied that Turkey would meet various EU criteria before being admitted, including the guarantee of religious rights.
Some were surprised at what appeared to be a turnaround by Pope Benedict. As a cardinal in 2004, he had clearly expressed the idea that culturally and historically, Turkey did not belong to Europe.
On one level, it seemed to demonstrate that papal opinions do not automatically translate into Vatican positions.
But Father Lombardi, in a more nuanced explanation, drew a distinction between Europe as a historical entity and the European Union as a political body. He suggested that the pope's support for Turkey's EU membership, as a way of drawing closer to European values, is different from the historical discussion.
For its part, the Vatican was able to press somewhat on religious freedom issues, especially in a meeting with a Turkish vice prime minister. Father Lombardi said the Turkish authorities agreed in principle to hold talks with church officials on legal, personnel and property issues regarding Catholic communities.
The pope also raised the religious freedom issue in his public speeches -- not as a claim to a "tit for tat" reciprocal arrangement between Christians and Muslims around the world, but in the context of universal rights guaranteed by democratic governments and enshrined in Turkey's Constitution.
The fact that the pope was ignored by much of Turkey's population didn't bother the Vatican officials. They knew the pope would have an impact in Turkey not via the multitudes but through political, cultural and religious leaders.
Father Lombardi explained, with characteristic understatement, why no popemobile was brought to Turkey.
"It seems fairly clear to me that this is not a place where big crowds are gathering to see the pope," he said.
END
Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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