Pope: In mosque I prayed to the one God for all man

In today’s general audience, Benedict XVI recalled his prayer in Istanbul, not foreseen but very meaningful, and he augured that secular Turkey will guarantee full religious freedom and become a bridge of friendship between East and West. From Istanbul, Bartholomew I said he was sure the apostolic journey would bear fruit for dialogue among Christians.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The prayer in Istanbul’s Blue Mosque was “not initially planned but it turned out to be very meaningful”. It was a prayer to the “one Lord of heaven and earth, merciful father of all mankind”. Addressing today’s general audience, this was how Benedict XVI described his silent prayer on 30 November in Istanbul.
The Pope “thanked divine Providence for this” and said: “May all believers identify themselves with the one God and bear witness to true brotherhood.”
The Pontiff augured that Turkey “will be a bridge of friendship and collaboration between East and West” and he thanked the Turkish people “for the cordiality and sympathy” they showed him throughout his stay, when “he felt loved and understood”.
For Benedict XVI, in secular Turkey, “the distinction between civil and religious spheres constitutes a principle and the State should guarantee effective religious freedom.” At the same time, he continued, “Christians and Muslims should collaborate together on issues like justice, peace and life.”
The Pope then prayed to God, so that He may “help the Turkish people, their rulers and representatives of different religions to build a future of peace together” and so that He may “make this apostolic journey fruitful and animate across the world the Church’s mission to announce to all nations the Gospel of truth, peace and love.”
The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, dwelt on the same subject during a speech delivered after last Sunday’s function. He said: “We are sure that the voyage of the Holy Father to the Ecumenical Patriarchate will bear fruits for dialogue between Christian churches, especially between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, and more generally to inter-religious dialogue. This real improvement in our ties will contribute to peace on our planet.”
The Ecumenical Patriarchate, he added, “has long been an initiator and promoter of dialogue between religions and civilizations: it sees with great satisfaction the desire for improvement in interpersonal relations worldwide.”

Turkish response to the visit

Editorial from the Turkish Daily News


".....
We are grateful to Benedict XVI for being our honorable guest and for reminding our state that the Fener Patriarchate is no burden, but rather an asset for our country. It has become all the more clear once again how absurd it is to insist on rejecting the “ecumenical” qualification of the Patriarchate with the assumption that it, as a title, demonstrates certain political aspirations. Anyhow, is there any meaning in rejecting the “ecumenical” status of the Patriarchate if some 200 million people all around the world consider it to be such? As a Turkish institution that enjoys such a special place in the hearts and minds of that many people, the Patriarchate could make great contributions to this country, particularly regarding its international promotion."

Turkey afterwards

(AsiaNews)
Istanbul returns to normality, but deep down something has changed with the Pope\'s visit
by Mavi Zambak
Benedict XVI has returned to Rome, but they're still celebrating his visit at Istanbul's cathedral. "After having felt the Pope's closeness, we feel stronger." The Muslim community also sees the visit positively; the Pope's prayers in the mosque overshadow the Regensburg controversy.
Istanbul --Traffic in Istanbul is slowly getting back to normal. People are back on the streets. Policemen are leaving way to thousands of pedestrians hurrying by and to cars that are back on the road. But young Christians (and not just the young), of varying rites and denominations, continued celebrating, dancing and singing at the top of their lungs, long after Benedict XVI's departure. There was a festive atmosphere, despite the cold, in the small courtyard of the Holy Spirit Church, in the shade of the imposing statues of Benedict XV and John XXIII: they are certain that it was these two predecessors who gave strength, courage and a great sense of freedom to "their" Pope. Who is one of them now. Everything went well, much better than actually expected. And they are euphoric: they feel loved, valued, revived.
"Of course, we'll go back to our daily lives, our labours, our worries, our dreams in a few hours, but nothing will be the same," says Rakel with a smile bursting with joy: "We wanted to show the Holy Father our affection and we asked that he return it somehow. That he let us know that he's near to us, that we're in his heart. And now we're sure of this. Last night when he looked out of the Nunciature's window, where we had gathered unexpectedly to cheer him, we felt the warmth of his embrace, his wishes for a good night, his expression of understanding for our difficulties, but also that he will be with us more than ever after today. Many of us had tears in our eyes. But now we feel there's new life and new hope in us to face the future."
The same had happened in Ephesus. There were but a few Christians who had arrived from far-off Anatolia; they felt at home in Mary's house. Pope Benedict had a personal word, a handshake and a blessing for everyone. He listened carefully to everyone, he noticed everyone. And they too felt welcomed, loved and encouraged.
And this morning, gathering together in the Cathedral of Istanbul, where there was singing in Aramaic, Arabic, Turkish, English and Latin, created a sense of communion which is already a gift of the bridges that the Pontiff wanted to build during this visit to Turkey. At the end, there was an explosive and long applause, with a chorus of voices spontaneously cheering in unison "Long live Benedict!"
Everyone was surprised by this "new version" of Ratzinger, who had been so discredited, before his arrival, by local mass media and certain extremist fringes. "I did not expect to find myself in front of a man who is so humble and reserved, but also attentive, smiling and serene: his courage to come him -- despite the many threats and protests -- gave us courage as well. The freedom of his gestures taught also us to not be afraid and to live our freedom fully," said whole-heartedly an older Christian man, distinguished in his tie and jacket, but whose eyes filled with tears for the warm, prolonged and strong handshake given to him by the Pope.
And this is also the impression of various Muslims: the Pope's visit, with his gestures of humility at the Saint Sophia Museum, at the Blue Mosque, with the Director of Religious Affairs, with Ergodan and at the tomb of Ataturk, gave a new image to the universal leader of Catholics. A more likeable and friendly one.
No one is asking, for now, why he did not excuse himself for his speech at Regensburg. This seems to have dropped into the background after he prayed silently in the mosque, holding his hands together the way Muslims do. This was a sign for most people of great respect and esteem.
After three days in which everything seemed hushed and suspended, chaotic Istanbul seems to have reawakened. But deep down something has changed.
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Say a prayer of thanks for a safe journey

Have a look at Sandro Magister's piece on the significance of the vist

Pope encourages Turkish Christians to live in harmony with Muslims

By John ThavisCatholic

News Service -- Closing out a four-day pilgrimage of dialogue in Turkey, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass with the tiny Christian community in Istanbul and encouraged it to live in harmony with the Muslim majority. "Brothers and sisters, your communities walk the humble path of daily companionship with those who do not share our faith, yet profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us adore the one, merciful God," the pope said in a sermon. "You know well that the church wishes to impose nothing on anyone, and that she merely asks to live in freedom, in order to reveal the one whom she cannot hide, Christ Jesus," he said. About 300 people packed into the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit for the Dec. 1 Mass. Several hundred more stood in the cathedral's inner plaza and in the courtyard of a nearby church, following the liturgy on a TV screen. Turkey has only 32,000 Catholics in a population of 72 million. Most of them live in Istanbul, which has for centuries been a bridge to the West. The pope, wearing red vestments to mark the work of the Holy Spirit, processed into the small church and listened as Armenian Catholics chanted the entrance song. A Chaldean choir of youths, dressed in blue tunics, sang a hymn in Aramaic. The seven languages used in the liturgy were meant to express the diversity of the Catholic community in Turkey. The pope paid tribute to this rich variety, asking Turkish Catholics to continue to live the faith in a humble manner with a sense of service to others. "To live by the Spirit is not to live for oneself alone, but to let oneself be conformed to Christ Jesus by becoming, like him, the servant of his brothers and sisters," he said. As a minority in a Muslim country, he said, Catholics should be attentive to all those who seek justice, peace and dignity. "Live in harmony, in accordance with the words of the Lord: 'By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another,'" he said. To one side of the altar sat Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who had hosted the pope the day before in a liturgy at his Istanbul headquarters, the ecumenical focus of the pope's visit. The pope recalled that his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, in a Mass 26 years earlier in the same cathedral, had urged new efforts for full Christian unity. Unfortunately, Pope Benedict said, that hope has not yet been realized, but "the pope still longs to see it fulfilled." He urged all Christian leaders to act for the good of all, "putting ecumenism at the forefront of our ecclesial concerns and not committing our respective churches and communities to decisions that could contradict or harm it." Those words appeared to refer to potential problems not so much with Orthodox churches as with the Anglican Communion. Several Anglican member churches have decided to ordain women priests and some to ordain women bishops, decisions the Vatican says create a serious barrier to full union with the Catholic Church. Patriarch Bartholomew joined the pope for the final blessing. Then the pope processed down the main aisle, smiling broadly and greeting many of the enthusiastic faithful who reached out from either side. One man waved a Turkish flag. Before the Mass, the pope blessed the statues of two popes in the courtyard of the cathedral: Pope John XXIII, who served for 10 years as apostolic nuncio in Turkey and was considered a good friend of the country; and Pope Benedict XV, who during World War I built hospitals in the region and made diplomatic moves in favor of Turkish prisoners. The larger-than-life bronze statue of Pope Benedict XV was unveiled in 1921, at a ceremony attended by many Muslim Turks. It bears an inscription hailing the pontiff as "the benefactor of all peoples, regardless of nationality or religion." After blessing the statues, the pope released four doves, one at a time, as a symbol of peace. The Mass was the final event of a trip that included political and ecumenical encounters. Before leaving for Rome from Istanbul's airport, the pope thanked city authorities and told them, "I am leaving a part of me here in Istanbul." The evening before, several hundred young Catholics paid an unscheduled visit to the pope's residence at the apostolic nunciature in Istanbul. After they prayed and sang outside his window for more than a half-hour, the pope came to the window and offered a blessing and words of appreciation, telling the young people he would always keep them in his prayers. Earlier Nov. 30, the pope joined Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Mesrob II at his cathedral in Istanbul for a prayer service. The pope spoke again of the importance of ecumenism, in view of the "tragic divisions" among Christians that "give scandal to the world." "Precisely by the witness of their faith and love, Christians are called to offer a radiant sign of hope and consolation to this world, so marked by conflicts and tensions," the pope said. "We must continue, therefore, to do everything possible to heal the wounds of separation and to hasten the work of rebuilding Christian unity," he said. The pope also appeared to refer indirectly to the Armenian massacre when he said that the faith of Armenian Catholics has been transmitted "often in very tragic circumstances, such as those experienced in the last century." An estimated 1.5 million Armenians -- more than half the Armenian population at the time -- died in a forced evacuation by Ottoman Turks in 1915-18. Turkey rejects the accusation of genocide, saying the deaths were due largely to disease and famine. In private encounters later that evening at the apostolic nunciature, the pope met with Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan Filuksinos Yusuf Cetin and with Turkish Chief Rabbi Ishak Haleva.