Με μεγάλο ενδιαφέρον παρακολουθεί η διενθής κοινότητα -και κυρίως ο Χριστιανικός αλλά και ο Μουσουλμανικός κόσμος- τα δρώμενα στο ταπεινό και μαρτυρικό Φανάρι όπου έχει κατακλυστεί από εκατοντάδες δημοσιογράφους απεσταλμένους για να καλύψουν το ιστορικό γεγονός. Χαρακτηριστική είναι ανταπόκριση του ABC NEWS το οποίο μεταδίδει διαρκώς τις εξελίξεις, όπως και τα άλλα μεγάλα και διεθνή πρακτορεία, της ιστορικής επίσκεψης του Ποντίφικα την οποία και παραθέτουμε. Τεράστιο το ενδιαφέρον ολόκληρης της διεθνούς κοινότητας το οποίο φαίνεται και από τα περισσότερο από 2.500 άρθρα και ανταποκρίσεις που αυτή τη στιγμή έχουν κατακλύσει το διαδίκτυο τα οποία επίσης παραθέτουμε
Pope Holds Intimate Mass in Turkey
By VICTOR L. SIMPSON
SELCUK, Turkey Nov 29, 2006 (AP)— Pope Benedict XVI held an intimate Mass under a flower-covered canopy at one of the holiest Christian places in this predominantly Muslim nation Wednesday, as riot police and soldiers toting submachine guns patrolled a hillside nearby.
The Mass was held next to the ruins of a house where the Virgin Mary is thought to have spent her last years. Security forces had sealed off the area and only 250 guests were invited, making it one of the smallest crowds to attend a papal Mass.
Afterward, Benedict lifted a giant Turkish flag as he made his way through the crowd, greeting worshippers and shaking hands. Many reached out to touch him and cried "Benedetto," his name in Italian.
Benedict held the Mass as part of his efforts to reach out to the Christian minority in Turkey, even as he seeks dialogue with Muslims who were angered over a speech he made in September in which he cited a medieval text that linked Islam and violence.
"I have wanted to convey my personal love and spiritual closeness, together with that of the universal church, to the Christian community here in Turkey, a small minority which faces many challenges and difficulties daily," the pope said.
Benedict also honored the Rev. Andrea Santoro, who was shot by a Turkish teenager in February in his church in the Black Sea port of Trabzon. The attack was believed linked to Muslim outrage over the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in European newspapers. Two other Catholic priests also were attacked in Turkey this year.
On Tuesday, the pope urged religious leaders of all faiths to "utterly refuse" to support any form of violence in the name of faith. He sought a careful balance as he extended a hand of friendship and "brotherhood" to Muslims on his first visit to a Muslim country, and even expressed support for measures that Turkey has taken in its campaign to join the European Union.
On Wednesday, Benedict cited one of his predecessors, Pope John XXIII, who served as a papal diplomat in Turkey in the 1940s. He quoted him as saying, "I love the Turks. I appreciate the natural qualities of these people, who have their own place reserved in the march of civilization
ΤΙ ΜΕΤΑΔΙΔΟΥΝ ΑΥΤΗ ΤΗΝ ΩΡΑ ΤΑ ΔΙΕΘΝΗ ΕΙΔΗΣΗΟΓΡΑΦΙΚΑ ΠΡΑΚΤΟΡΕΙΑ ΣΕ ΟΛΟΚΛΗΡΟ ΤΟ ΚΟΣΜΟ
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