"The visit will have great historical significance, because it comes at a time in which the western and the eastern culture, or actually the Christian and the Islamic faiths, are at loggerheads". This was stated by the head Rabbi of Istanbul, Isaac Haleva, as he commented Benedict XVI’s forthcoming apostolic journey to Turkey. In a release published tomorrow by SIR Europa (old.agensir.it), the Rabbi, who is going to meet the Pope on November 30th, writes that "this visit has the same significance as that of John Paul II (1979) and John XXIII (card. Roncalli was for ten years the papal representative to Turkey, editor’s note). Since the Council’s declaration "Nostra Aetate" of the Second Vatican Council, the attitude of the Holy See towards Hebraism and Islam has changed and has achieved a realism that responds to the requirements of our time and the achievement of human peace. I have no doubts the Pope will follow in the footsteps of the Council and his predecessors". "I hope this journey will be fruitful and will help build a bridge of friendship and brotherhood between these conflicting cultures, because there can be no global peace without the religions making peace between them".
