A small Church
A small Church raises bridges in the midst of a Europe that erects walls and a Middle East in flames: there are less than 87 thousand Catholics in Turkey today, 0.11% of the whole population, most of whom are foreigners. But Monsignor Piretto, new archbishop of Smirne, is determined: “We can be a sign of reconciliation at a time of major tensions… Here in Turkey there aren’t only radicals and extremists willing to fight in Syria. Many young people view Christianity with curiosity.” The path of the Church in Turkey is guided by “humbleness, discretion and Christian hope, which keeps us from getting discouraged.”
Out of over 79 million inhabitants, according to the latest statistics directory of the Catholic Church (2014), Turkish Catholics amount to less than 87thousand (0.11%) present in 7 dioceses, 47 parish churches, a mission without a priest and 13 more centres. Of these 47 parishes 8 are guided by a parish of the diocesan clergy, 26 by priests members of religious institutions, 7 are administered by a vicar, two are entrusted to women religious, one to lay Christians and three are vacant. A small Church guided by six bishops, 11 diocesan priests, 56 religious, a permanent deacon, 7 lay religious, 49 religious novices, two members of lay women Institutes, 6 lay missionaries and 74 catechists. In 2014 the Turkish Church celebrated only one priestly ordination, the first in three years. In the Country of the Crescent moon the Catholic Church has neither seminaries nor schools where the current six candidates to the priesthood could be formed.
A sign of dialogue. “We shouldn’t worry about the numbers but only about our faithfulness to Christ. He will do the rest.
We can be a sign of reconciliation at a time of great tensions; peaceful fellow citizens of this Country to whom we intend to give our contribution of dialogue, brotherhood and reconciliation.”
The dramatic figures that describe Turkey’s Catholic Church as a “small flock” don’t seem to worry Dominican Father Lorenzo Piretto, appointed Latin archbishop of Izmir (Smirne), in Turkey, past December. Monsignor Piretto, 73, spent half of his life in Istanbul and in Catholic communities in the Aegean islands. He is one of the three bishops appointed by Pope Francis over the past months in an equal number of vacant Latin dioceses, an evident token of Bergoglio’s attention towards the Catholic Church in Turkey. The other two priests are Monsignor Paolo Bizzeti, Jesuit Father, Apostolic vicar of Anatolia, who took over the post of Msgr. Luigi Padovese, killed on June 3 2010 in Iskenderun, and Fr Ruben Tierrablanca, new apostolic vicar of Istanbul who replaced Monsignor Louis Pelatre, having reached the age limit. The tense moments between the Vatican and Turkey, following Pope Francis’ use of the word “genocide” to describe the massacre of Armenian Christians over a year ago, have apparently toned down, and the small Turkish Church with an age-long history is ready to resume with renewed thrust its uninterrupted journey, which continued even in the darkest moments, as in the deathly attacks on don Andrea Santoro and Monsignor Padovese.
The direction is clear although difficulties do remain. The Catholic Church is not recognized officially in Turkey, although religious freedom is enshrined in the Constitution. Inside the churches it is possible to celebrate and conduct pastoral activities without problems. “It’s now time to pass from a Church considered foreigner to a Turkish Church – the archbishop told SIR – through greater enculturation and the commitment of Catholic faithful, most of whom are not indigenous.
But small indigenous communities are also growing, enriched by the presence of converts who have decided to put their lives on the line. It is unthinkable in other Countries with a Muslim majority population.
Language difficulties and its use in the liturgy are equally being overcome.” Nonetheless “a certain degree of fear for the future lingers on, given recent turmoil in the area” with internal consequences in Erdogan’s Country, such as terrorist attacks, repression and government censorship of protests, against the backdrop of debates on the new Constitution that risks loosing references to secularism thereby inflicting a hard blow on the Kemalist, lay, republican and nationalistic ideology to the benefit of an ever-visible Islamism.
A small cog in the machine. Given this situation the Church represents “a small cog in the machine of the Country at a time marked by the need to erect bridges”. “I nurture hope in the large numbers of Muslims, the young in particular, who view the Church and Christianity with curiosity and friendliness. Theirs is a sincere desire of understanding that bodes well for the future of the Country. Here in Turkey there aren’t only radical Muslims or extremists willing to fight in Syria.” The thoughts of Monsignor Piretto also go to the hundreds of thousands of refugees prevented from leaving Turkey upon their arrival. “We do our best to help them with our limited means and thanks to the help of the Churches at international level. We make no distinctions”, however, he remarked, “we are especially careful with Muslim migrants so as no to be accused of proselytism. That’s why we act through Turkish associations.”
“It’s a very delicate moment that we are trying to make the most of, contributing to coexistence and reconciliation. We are guided by humbleness, discretion and by Christian hope, which keeps us from getting discouraged.”
