c. 2006 Religion News Service

ANKARA, Turkey _ Pope Benedict XVI began his four-day visit to Turkey on Tuesday (Nov. 28), calling for an end to religiously motivated violence as he tried to calm tensions between the Vatican and the predominantly Muslim country.

Top religious authorities and political leaders who met with Benedict, however, wasted little time in confronting the pope on issues that have recently roiled relations between the two sides.

In a joint appearance with Benedict, Turkey’s top Islamic cleric, Ali Bardakoglu, echoed passages from Benedict’s controversial address last September in which the pontiff quoted a medieval Christian ruler describing the teachings of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad as “evil and inhuman” and “spread by the sword.”

“The so-called conviction that the sword is used to expand Islam in the world, and growing Islamophobia, hurts all Muslims,” Bardakoglu said.

Bardakoglu was among Benedict’s most vocal critics during the wave of protest that followed Benedict’s address in Germany, describing the pontiff’s speech as a threat to world peace.

On Tuesday, Benedict avoided making any references to violent strains of Islam as he reaffirmed his rejection of religiously motivated violence. In calling on religious and political leaders to “utterly refuse to sanction recourse to violence as a legitimate expression of religion,” the pontiff cited conflict in the Middle East, but the address stopped short of mentioning Islam.

Benedict’s caution underscores the delicate balancing act he faces in advancing his push for “sincere and frank” dialogue with Islam without embroiling the Vatican in further conflict with the Muslim world. Upon arriving on Turkish soil, Benedict was confronted with another thorny issue: Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.

During a brief meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Esenboga Airport in Ankara, Erdogan asked the pope whether he supported Turkey’s EU candidacy.

According to Turkey’s semi-official Anatolian News Agency, the pontiff responded: “We are not politicians, but we hope for Turkey’s entry into the European Union.”

The Vatican’s chief spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, rushed to clarify the substance of the meeting, stating that the “Holy See has neither the power nor the specific political task of intervening on the exact point regarding the entry of Turkey into the European Union. It’s not in its scope.”

Lombardi added, however, that the Vatican “positively views and encourages the road of dialogue and of moving toward integration in Europe on the basis of common values and principles.”

Before he was elected pope, Benedict expressed opposition to Turkey’s bid to join the EU. In a 2004 interview with Le Figaro, he described officially secular Turkey as being in a state of “permanent contrast” with Christian Europe.

Benedict said Tuesday that Christians and Muslims belong to a family of souls that believe in one God, although they worship him differently.

But the pope added that a guarantee of religious freedom is necessary for a just society _ a mild version of the call from Orthodox Christians in Turkey for more rights, including the return of confiscated property and the reopening of Halki Seminary on Heybeliada Island.

Benedict attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the mausoleum of Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic and leader of efforts to secularize the country.

Security officials sealed off the area around the mausoleum for three and a half hours in preparation for Benedict’s visit _ a solemn affair that was punctuated by the sounds of military helicopters buzzing overhead and the occasional echoes of the muezzin, the Muslim call to prayer.

Benedict’s arrival in Ankara drew a few scattered protests _ a stark change of tone from the tens of thousands who marched through Istanbul on Sunday to protest the visit.

He travels to Istanbul on Wednesday. On Thursday, he will visit the Haghia Sophia, once the world’s largest church and now a museum. Many Turks are waiting to see if he performs any religious signs when he enters the building.

Due to security concerns the pope is not using the popemobile while in Turkey. Instead, he is traveling in an unmarked motorcade. There were 3,000 security forces in Ankara on Tuesday, with snipers positioned on buildings and security checkpoints on most major roadways.

On Wednesday Benedict will travel to Ephesus to celebrate Mass at the Church of the Virgin Mary, where it is believed she spent the last years of her life. He will then go to Istanbul and be received by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians.

Turkey is no stranger to papal visits. Pope Paul VI visited in 1967 and John Paul II visited in 1979.

(Scott Rank reported from Ankara; Stacy Meichtry reported from Rome)

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