By Furkan Naci Top
ISTANBUL
It was an iconic moment; the spiritual head of the world’s one billion Catholics, his shoes removed, stood praying while turned to Mecca in Istanbul’s landmark Blue Mosque.
Pope Benedict XVI – who later became the first pontiff to resign in 600 years – grabbed worldwide attention in 2006 for stepping inside a mosque at a time when a large part of the global Muslim community raged at him due to a statement he made on Islam.
The German pontiff had upset many Muslims during a lecture delivered two months before his Turkey visit in which he used a quote from a 14th century Byzantine king which equated Islam with violence.
In the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, the pontiff crossed his hands over his stomach – similar to Islamic practice while praying. This was greeted with surprise as Benedict was the doctrinal head of the Vatican and was previously dubbed the ‘Panzerkardinal’ due to his strict stance against any softening on Christian theology or religious pluralism.
Another unexpected twist to the pope’s visit, as surprising as his silent meditation in the mosque, came right after his meeting with the then Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The then-79-year-old pope expressed his support for Turkey’s long-stalled European Union membership bid.
Erdogan had earlier declared that he would not meet Benedict given the Turkish leader’s ire over the pope’s statement on Islam. However, an appointment was hastily arranged before Erdogan flew to Riga for a NATO meeting.
Afterwards, Erdogan said that the pope wished to see Turkey's accession to EU, quoting Benedict after their short meeting at Ankara airport.
"He said: ‘You know we don’t have a political role, but we wish for Turkey’s entry into the EU'," Erdogan told the media, describing the pontiff’s statement as "positive."
Benedict's remarks generated widespread coverage in Turkish dailies at the time: Radikal ran the headline "The Most Spiritual Support: Turkey's place is EU". Cumhuriyet wrote: "Surprise from the Pope."
The Turkish media was particularly surprised because this represented an about-face from Benedict.
Only two years previously, when – as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger – he was the church’s most senior theologian, he described Turkey in an interview with French daily La Figaro as being "in permanent contrast to Europe" due to its Islamic roots.
Ratzinger's words came right before scheduled EU negotiations which eventually started in 2005.
Nevertheless, the third visit by a Catholic pontiff to Turkey saw the ice further broken when Benedict – visiting a shrine in the west of the country to the Virgin Mary – quoted his predecessor John XXIII, known for his affection for the Turkish people.
John XXIII, who was pontiff from 1958 until his death in 1963, is known locally as the ‘Turkish pope.’
Still, Benedict’s papal visit, which was placed under heavy security measures, saw minor protests from conservative and nationalist demonstrators.
Benedict had landed in Turkey to mend relations with the Orthodox Church in Istanbul, meeting the Patriarch Bartholomew I and celebrating a church service in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate.
On Friday, Pope Francis will celebrate a similar Mass like his predecessor did eight years ago, aiming to heal ties between the eastern and the western churches.
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