What a difference a week makes
Which is not really what he was after in going to Turkey, as we all know. But by carrying out his mission with his ever-present grace and eloquence, he has made quite an impact on the world, and some reports are filled with praise, like this one from the BBC.
The 79-year-old Pope scored a considerable diplomatic success.
Popes usually go down in history more for what they do than for what they say.
The reign of the 16th-Century Pope Sixtus V is still remembered for his architectural transformations of the city of Rome.
Pope John XXIII is remembered for having called the Second Vatican Council. And Pope John Paul II is remembered as the most travelled Pope in history.
In Istanbul, we have, I believe, witnessed some defining moments of the papacy of Benedict XVI.
He reached out to Muslims by praying facing towards Mecca in a famous mosque.
And he reached out to Orthodox Christians, seeking to heal a rift that has lasted more than 1,000 years by holding joint services and giving a joint blessing to their faithful by the side of Patriarch Bartholomew, their spiritual leader, on the holiest day in their church calendar.
Pope Benedict followed up on promises he had previously made at the Vatican with some very striking and eloquent gestures.
The Pope won the praise of Turkey’s former religious affairs director Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz for facing Mecca when he prayed in silence inside Istanbul’s Blue Mosque.
The visit to the mosque, an extra stop inserted in the Pope’s programme only at the last minute, appears to have gone down extremely well with his hosts.
It was a bold gesture, considering that this was only the second time in the history of the papacy that a pope from Rome has entered a Muslim place of worship.
It sure silenced those radicals who kept issuing warnings against Benedict’s visit. Now they’ve probably turned their attention to the brewing unrest in Lebanon. More on that soon…
