Pope backed into a corner on Turkey’s EU ambitions
-30/11/06
On a vital diplomatic mi
Pope backed into a corner on Turkey’s EU ambitions
-30/11/06
On a vital diplomatic mission aiming to build a bridge of peace towards the Muslim world, Pope Benedict XVI yesterday found himself cleverly manoeuvred into a virtual about-turn on the question of Turkeyís possible accession to the European Union.
“This [papal] trip is important for Turkey’s EU membership. This is a big warning for conservative politicians who think the EU is a Christian club,” daily Milliyet columnist Guneri Civaoglu had written.
In his former incarnation as Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, the Catholic Churchís ëtheological enforcerí, the new Pope Benedict expressed scepticism bordering on antipathy toward the idea of a Muslim (albeit) secular nation entering the heartland of Europe.
This stance has subsequently been backed up by other leading Catholic figures, including Cardinal Cormac Murphy OíConnor in England and Wales.
However, greeted in Ankaraon his first visit to a majority Islamic nation by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, a devout Muslim whose wife wears a headscarf in public, the Pope found himself cornered into giving virtual assent to Turkeyís ambitions.
Many Turks now hope the pontiff’s visit will convince other sceptical Europeans that the relatively poor country of 73 million is worthy of European Union membership ñ thus reviving a bid which seem to have lost political momentum inside and outside the country in recent months.
The EU itself has criticised Turkey for its treatment of non-Muslim religious minorities and Pope Benedict stressed in another Ankara speech today that all democratic countries must guarantee full religious freedom.
He also praised and encouraged mainstream Islamic traditions in their peaceful aspirations, and he quoted a famous predecessor in the Chair of St Peter as saying that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, albeit with differences.
However, in a move described by British PM Tony Blair as a ìserious mistakeî, and by diplomats as ìincredibly ineptly timedî, the European Commission recommended yesterday that the EU should freeze areas of its negotiations with Turkey that touch on Ankara’s relations with Cyprus.
Turkey and the EU are deadlocked over Ankara’s refusal to open its ports and airports to the Mediterranean island, which is an EU member.
That the move should come at exactly the same time as a high profile and sensitive Papal visit ìbeggars beliefî, one commentator told Ekklesia.
No-one doubts the seriousness of the issue, but many feel that the problems with Turkeyís claim for accession need to be handled in the light of the benefits to be gained from a populous Muslim nation opening up a new dimension to the European reality ñ and thwarting those who seek a ëclash of civilizationsí.
Monsignor Georges Marovitch, Vatican representative in Turkey and spokesperson for the small Catholic community there, has said it would be a ìbig mistakeî to block further talks about EU membership.
And the Vatican responded to the exchange between Benedict and the Turkish PM today by producing a carefully crafted statement which gave no firm assurances, but re-engineered the Churchís previous anxious stance into a positive one.
It also said that previous remarks by Catholic leaders, including the Pope, had been ìmisunderstoodî, salvaging face for all involved while keeping further diplomatic moves open.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Christian guests gathered at the Marian shrine in the Aegean town of Efes, known in the New Testament by its Greek name Ephesus, to await the Pope’s arrival at this important religious landmark.
Pope backed into a corner on Turkey’s EU ambitions
-30/11/06
On a vital diplomatic mission aiming to build a bridge of peace towards the Muslim world, Pope Benedict XVI yesterday found himself cleverly manoeuvred into a virtual about-turn on the question of Turkeyís possible accession to the European Union.
“This [papal] trip is important for Turkey’s EU membership. This is a big warning for conservative politicians who think the EU is a Christian club,” daily Milliyet columnist Guneri Civaoglu had written.
In his former incarnation as Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, the Catholic Churchís ëtheological enforcerí, the new Pope Benedict expressed scepticism bordering on antipathy toward the idea of a Muslim (albeit) secular nation entering the heartland of Europe.
This stance has subsequently been backed up by other leading Catholic figures, including Cardinal Cormac Murphy OíConnor in England and Wales.
However, greeted in Ankaraon his first visit to a majority Islamic nation by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, a devout Muslim whose wife wears a headscarf in public, the Pope found himself cornered into giving virtual assent to Turkeyís ambitions.
Many Turks now hope the pontiff’s visit will convince other sceptical Europeans that the relatively poor country of 73 million is worthy of European Union membership ñ thus reviving a bid which seem to have lost political momentum inside and outside the country in recent months.
The EU itself has criticised Turkey for its treatment of non-Muslim religious minorities and Pope Benedict stressed in another Ankara speech today that all democratic countries must guarantee full religious freedom.
He also praised and encouraged mainstream Islamic traditions in their peaceful aspirations, and he quoted a famous predecessor in the Chair of St Peter as saying that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, albeit with differences.
However, in a move described by British PM Tony Blair as a ìserious mistakeî, and by diplomats as ìincredibly ineptly timedî, the European Commission recommended yesterday that the EU should freeze areas of its negotiations with Turkey that touch on Ankara’s relations with Cyprus.
Turkey and the EU are deadlocked over Ankara’s refusal to open its ports and airports to the Mediterranean island, which is an EU member.
That the move should come at exactly the same time as a high profile and sensitive Papal visit ìbeggars beliefî, one commentator told Ekklesia.
No-one doubts the seriousness of the issue, but many feel that the problems with Turkeyís claim for accession need to be handled in the light of the benefits to be gained from a populous Muslim nation opening up a new dimension to the European reality ñ and thwarting those who seek a ëclash of civilizationsí.
Monsignor Georges Marovitch, Vatican representative in Turkey and spokesperson for the small Catholic community there, has said it would be a ìbig mistakeî to block further talks about EU membership.
And the Vatican responded to the exchange between Benedict and the Turkish PM today by producing a carefully crafted statement which gave no firm assurances, but re-engineered the Churchís previous anxious stance into a positive one.
It also said that previous remarks by Catholic leaders, including the Pope, had been ìmisunderstoodî, salvaging face for all involved while keeping further diplomatic moves open.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Christian guests gathered at the Marian shrine in the Aegean town of Efes, known in the New Testament by its Greek name Ephesus, to await the Pope’s arrival at this important religious landmark.