We are here to serve

There is only a month to go before Benedict XVI’s apostolic journey to Turkey (28 November – 1 December). In recent days the Holy See, announcing the places to be included in the Pope’s visit (Ankara, Izmir, Ephesus and Istanbul), confirmed that the journey would go ahead, thus putting an end to the fears that had arisen after Benedict’s lecture in Regensburg (12 September) that had given rise to a good deal of controversy, not least in Turkey. The security measures are massive: over 16,000 policemen will be mobilised to cover the Pope’s visit. The security measures will also include traffic blocks and bans on demonstrations in the cities to be visited. Apart from the inevitable political implications – Turkey is asking to enter the EU, which has posed some conditions such as respect for some rights such as religious freedom – the journey will essentially be characterized by ecumenical and interfaith dialogue. “It will also be an occasion to enable the universal Church to get to know the Turkish Church. To this end we have long been preparing ourselves spiritually with prayers, moments of adoration and pilgrimages to the house of the Blessed Virgin Mary. May the Lord inspire us how to speak and act when the Pope is a pilgrim on the roads of the first Church”, says the President of the Turkish Bishops’ Conference, Monsignor RUGGERO FRANCESCHINI . SIR has interviewed him. What does the Turkish Church expect from this journey? Do you hope that the Pope’s presence will help the world to understand better the reality of the Turkish Church? “We hope that this visit may be an occasion not only to claim legitimate rights, but also to build relations of serene co-existence with the Muslim majority. The Pope’s journey will enable everyone to get to know the Turkish Church and its faithful. But our greatest concern is that the Pope should get to know the identity of our parish communities because it is through them that the Church can make felt her presence in Turkish society. Here we have very impoverished dioceses, with few faithful. We have asked the authorities to allow us to have churches where our faithful are more numerous, and be able to prepare our youth for the priesthood. Our priests are rather elderly; many are over the age of 80. There are many missionary stations without clergy to serve them; there are Christians, but no priests. We have a need for joyful vocations and a great deal of hope”. But don’t you also need to see your rights respected? “It’s wrong to describe the Pope’s visit as a means of leverage to ask for respect for human rights, in particular religious freedom for Christians. We ask only for the chance to better serve this country in those Turks who believe in God. We are here in Turkey to serve. And Benedict XVI’s journey will be essentially pastoral in nature. Even if we cannot preach outside our churches, even if we are few in number, old and decrepit, we are happy that the Pope is coming to get to know a mission that is poor but anxious to bear witness to the love of God, also through its martyrs”. Will it be a visit inspired by martyrs like Father Andrea Santoro? “The new evangelization is not a question of decrees or documents, but of living one’s own faith with joy and a spirit of service. It’s the spirit of St. Francis, who said to his friars, ‘when you go among the Saracens immediately place yourselves at their service, and only if they ask you, how come you serve us with so much joy even when you are maltreated, only then reply, we do so because we have met Jesus, in whom we are all brothers’. Father Santoro suffered a violent martyrdom, but there are many other martyrs. I know some Capuchin friars who began their mission in Trebizond, where don Andrea was killed. On their arrival they were stoned. One of them, Father Benigno, was spat on and insulted whenever he left his church and he replied with smiles and benevolence. That situation continued for years until he finally succeeded in making a breach in people’s hearts and was recognized as a ‘man of God’. It’s people like this who serve here, people who are willing to discuss, but also capable of silence, humility, humanity and patience”. There’s also eager anticipation for the meeting with Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, and for the signing of a joint declaration… “I hope it may represent a further impetus for dialogue. We need to practice unity if we are to be credible and make our voice heard more. There are difficulties and mistrust we need to overcome, but only mutual understanding can remove those prejudices that are slowing down the path towards unity”. Fact File According to the Statistical Yearbook of the Church (2004), the Turkish Catholic Church comprises 32,000 faithful, subdivided into 7 dioceses, administered by nine bishops with 48 parishes. There are 65 priests (both religious and secular). There are only 4 permanent deacons, and just over 100 religious. 7 lay missionaries and 23 catechists are also active. The church runs 4 hospitals, 5 day hospitals, 5 homes for the elderly and 3 centres of social re-education.