DESPITE THE clamour and controversy aroused by his address at the University of Regensburg, Pope Benedict XVI will be visiting Turkey from November 28 to December 1. The climax of his pilgrimage across a country that was once one of the cradles of Christianity will occur on November 30, on the occasion of the Feast of St Andrew, one of the first apostles to evangelise that land.
Why has the Holy Father chosen to set foot on Turkish soil despite the virulent antipathy against Christianity prevailing in that secular Muslim nation?
First of all, Benedict's visit is not political in nature. On his agenda is a very important ecumenical meeting with the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul), Bartholomew I. The Patriarch had already invited Benedict for a 2005 visit, but on that occasion the Turkish government opposed the move.
The Holy Father's visit is also meant to embolden and comfort the numerous Christian minorities in a country where Christian missionaries risk their lives daily, and where human rights and religious freedom exist only on paper.
Finally, the Pope is there to reaffirm the Church's respect for the Muslim faith, and to highlight common ground between Christianity and Islam.
When he was still a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger had voiced on a number of occasions his concern about Turkey's proposed entry into the European Union on the grounds that the country has traditionally been strongly antagonistic towards Christianity.
'Europe is a cultural continent, not a geographical one... The roots that have formed it, that have permitted the formation of this continent, are those of Christianity... In this sense, throughout history Turkey has always represented another continent, in permanent contrast with Europe. There were the wars against the Byzantine empire, the fall of Constantinople, the Balkan wars, and the threat against Vienna and Austria. That is why I think it would be an error to equate the two continents'.
So, how will Benedict be received and what will he find there? He will obviously find few Christians. Constantinople was, for centuries, a 'second Rome', the spiritual capital of the eastern Church. However, since Islam swept the country, Christians have been systematically persecuted and compelled to a gradual but steady exodus.
Before and after WWI, the Turkish authorities organised what is known as the Armenian genocide, in which an estimated one and a half million Armenian Christians were slaughtered or worked to death. In spite of the genocide, by 1927 there were still 900,000 Christians in Turkey; in the 1980s they were 150,000, and now that number is down to about 60,000. Christians, therefore, are few in number and divided among themselves into Orthodox, Protestant and Catholic. The bitter bread of persecution, however, has brought them together, even with the small Jewish community, and they put up a common front against radical Islam.
Turkey is the only secular Muslim country in which it is not a crime to convert to another religion. But in actual fact the government has closed all non-Muslim religious seminaries, and it is forbidden to preach or teach the Christian religion outside places of worship. Moreover, Christians, like Jews, are treated as dhimmi (second class citizens) by the law; they are forbidden to own anything or to work as civil servants, etc. To this must be added a non-official discrimination in the workplace and in life in general. Islamic fundamentalism has been steadily growing in the last 20 years. School textbooks teach that the Gospels are false; television programs give out stories which claim that Christians want to 'reconquer Turkey', and generally stir up hatred against Christians. In the last six months, after the murder of Father Santoro last January, four priests, two Catholic and two Protestant, have been assailed. A secular Turkish newspaper, Milliyet, reports that in the Black Sea region (where Fr. Santoro was killed) various episodes of 'priest hunting' have taken place. As with Palestine, the Christian presence in Turkey may soon be completely wiped out, after a magnificent 2,000 year history.
The Holy Father is visiting Turkey, which contains some of the oldest Christian churches in the world, in the hope of averting this rising tide of persecution. However, even the secular West has much to gain from a positive outcome of this trip: it may serve as a further stimulus for the Turkish government to continue with greater courage and determination along the path to true democracy, real religious freedom and human rights.
In the meantime, another disturbing episode has occurred. A novel was recently published in Turkey which has now become a best-seller. Titled Papa'ya suikast (Attack on the Pope), it predicts that Benedict will be assassinated. The author, Yücel Kaya, has subtitled the book, 'Who will kill Benedict XVI in Istanbul?'
The time really has come for us to pray that the forces of evil may not prevail.
Updated on October 06 2016