The Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic, Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, officially received the bishops of the Turkish Episcopal Conference for the first time in Ankara on 21 June. News of the event was reported by a communiqué issued by the press office of the bishops, who “expressed to Erdoðan and to his government their best wishes and those of the communities they represent” and “asked for the implementation of legislative measures to harmonise the Turkish laws with those of the European Union, of which Turkey wishes to form part”. During the meeting, the episcopate “drew attention to the problems that are of concern to the various communities and asked for the legal recognition of the Catholic Church in Turkey”. The bishops also proposed the setting up of a “bilateral Commission to tackle the problems of the Turkish Catholic Church”.
