A great testimony

On Sunday June 28 Benedict XVI will preside over the first Vespers of the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul in the Ostiense Basilica, marking the opening of the closing date of the Pauline Year. The Pontiff inaugurated the event on June 28 2009. Similar ceremonies are also scheduled in Tarsus, Turkey, the hometown of the Apostle. Daniele Rocchi, for SIR Europe, asked Msgr. Luigi Padovese, President of Turkey’s Bishops’ Conference (CET) and Apostolic vicar of Anatolia, where Tarsus is located, to draw a balance of the Year. Excellency, could you draw us a balance of this Pauline Year? “It’s a very positive balance. It’s the first time that we have witnessed such a constant flow of pilgrims in Tarsus and Antioch that came to pay homage to the figure of Saint Paul and attend the celebrations. Until last week some 400 groups visited Tarsus, some of whom consisting of approximately 150 people, and not only from Europe but from all over the world: from the U.S., from Latin America, from Asia, and from the Far East. The Pauline Year here in Turkey was the object of special attention”.Does this attention lead to a different perception of the Church on the part of Muslims? “Those who came to Tarsus did so as pilgrims and not as tourists, with a specific objective. The Christians that came here to pray and who continue praying give a very positive image of the Church and Christianity and served to shun diffidence against the European and Western world, viewed as secularized and fomented by hedonism and relativism. I believe it was an important testimony of faith”.It’s certainly an important fruit for the Church, do you agree? “I certainly do, as is the visibility acquired by the Church during this Year. Many people have come here in Turkey to pray, they did so before the Turk authorities and the local population, prompting greater conscience-awareness of religious tourism. Pilgrims trigger mutual exchange and friendship with local Christian communities that are very important to us, a small minority living in a Country with a Muslim majority. I noted that many pilgrims wished to bear witness of their own faith. The pilgrims who came all the way over here weren’t only seeking a holy place. Indeed, they were looking forward to the encounter with the local Christians”.As relates to the fruits… will it be possible to have a Church in Tarsus, even if only on a rental basis? “As relates to the church we’re waiting for the reply from the institutions. We submitted a request to national and local authorities asking that it cease to function as a museum while recovering its status as a permanent place of worship. But we’re still waiting for a reply. I hope it will be positive and that it will arrive by the end of the Pauline Year. If this shouldn’t be the case the Church would return to be a museum and this would be a negative sign. We’re not asking for the property of the place. We’re just asking that it be made available to pilgrims and Christians. The ensuing decision will show how Ankara intends to act vis a vis religious freedom”.Aren’t you afraid that once the Pauline Year is over everything will return as it once was? “No. We cherish the hope that after this Year Tarsus and the Christian sites in Turkey may become a stable pilgrimage site. After June 28 Tarsus will stop being the same it was in the past. The relationship with the pilgrims cannot cease”.What will you do to promote pilgrimages and religious tourism? “We’re working to set up the organization needed for their reception. The Municipality of Tarsus is erecting a new hotel. In synergy with the administrators we’re also examining the possibility of holding a series of events such as symposiums and meetings on the figure and the works of Saint Paul. Another possibility is that of creating a library with all the works on Saint Paul published in the various languages. The purpose is to preserve the living memory of the Apostle. We are looking forward to the twinning with another Pauline city, Reggio Calabria. There are many ideas but there are also financial considerations that need to be made. However I must make clear that the Turkish authorities gave a positive reception to these proposals”.Could you describe the program of the final celebrations? “The schedule was drawn up in close cooperation with Turkish institutions. Celebrations will begin June 27 with a symposium on Saint Paul, in Iskenderun. On the afternoon of June 28, Masses will be officiated in Antioch with Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious dialogue. On June 29, a celebration with the bishops of Turkey and Syria is scheduled in the morning, to the presence of the delegates of the other Christian Churches. In the afternoon space will be given to official speeches, to the letter of Benedict XVI and to the presentation of the figure of Saint Paul on the part of Christian, Jewish and Muslim representatives. Vespers in the Orthodox church with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and a concert offered by the municipality of Tarsus will conclude the celebrations”.