Benedict’s Turkish Trip: Did It Help Religious Freedom?
Schmid, originally from
What are your reflections on the Holy Father’s visit to
It’s difficult to talk about “achievements,” as it’s too early to say.
At this point we can look
carefully at what he said and read it in light of the current situation in
Ataturk’s legacy, which is protected by
law, is still cherished in the hearts of these people: They view his reforms as
the reason why
Is
I don’t know. With
One has to be careful because Islam is inculturated differently in different places, and one of the phenomena we’re observing today is that a particular Arabic form of inculturation seems to be being exported into non-Arabic countries. So while Turkey has its own brand of Islam, and as a Muslim society has certain characteristics, one has to be careful not to get too enthusiastic in saying, well this could be the way for other Muslim countries.
Ali Bardakoglu, Turkey’s director of religious
affairs, has said the Pope was “doing an injustice” to
There are many countries where
people are outright persecuted and thrown into jail, tortured or killed, and
that’s not the case in
And while there is no strict
anti-proselytism legislation in place, I was told by a priest who for a time
was placed at the House of Mary in
That indicates that
But at the same time, if they do hand out Bibles, it doesn’t mean they’ll be thrown into prison and tortured. So let’s keep it in perspective
How much will the Holy Father’s visit have helped advance the cause of
religious freedom beyond
The Pope mentioned religious freedom at almost every occasion on this trip. And he articulated very precisely what it is the Catholic Church wants with regard to religious freedom: During Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, he said that the Church wishes to impose nothing on anyone but asks to live in freedom in order to reveal the One whom she cannot hide, Jesus Christ.
I don’t think other countries look
at the Pope visiting one country and say, “Well, we should change something.”
But this visit can do a lot, and has already done a lot — especially after the
It was incredibly fortunate that
the first Muslim country the Pope was going to visit — it was already scheduled
before
To be sure, the Holy Father was
aware of this. Before he went, he said that he really looked forward to meeting
the great people of
They were much more open-minded than most people expected?
Yes, extraordinarily generous and open-minded. And I had no doubt that they would respond to the personal warmth of the Holy Father, the way he is likeable and humble and so obviously a truthful man. This trip was clearly not going to be just a public relations spin operation.
And this is what happened. All those surprising occasions showed how well matched the two parties really were: the authenticity of Joseph Ratzinger and the geniuses of the Turkish people.
Edward Pentin
writes from
- Keywords:
- December 24- January 6, 2006