During the first day of his delicate trip to the largely Muslim but officially secular country on Tuesday, Benedict quickly set to work trying to soothe still simmering rows over his positions on Islam and Turkey's future role in Europe.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told reporters on Tuesday that in a private meeting at the airport, Benedict had told him he backed Turkey's bid to join the European Union. "A surprise from the Pope: Benedict, who had opposed Turkey's EU membership, spoke differently in Ankara," said left-leaning newspaper Cumhuriyet said. Asked to explain the Vatican's precise position, spokesman Father Lombardi said it could not take any political stand but "encourages and views positively Turkey's path of dialogue, rapprochement and participation in Europe based on common values and principles".
Pope Benedict laid a wreath at the mausoleum of the republic's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who also made secularism the main pillar of Turkey's political structure.
No comments:
Post a Comment