Vatican official says he expects November papal trip to Istanbul

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A top Vatican official said he expects Pope Benedict to travel to Istanbul, Turkey, in late November for a meeting with Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, who coordinates ecumenical dialogue at the Vatican, said Patriarch Bartholomew had issued the invitation the day after the pope's election last April.

"I referred this proposal to the pope, who welcomed it with great pleasure. I think Pope Benedict will make the visit to the Orthodox patriarchate on Nov. 30, the feast of St. Andrew," Cardinal Kasper told the Italian Catholic news agency SIR in early September.

Each year, the Vatican sends a delegation to Istanbul for the celebration of the feast of St. Andrew, patron of the ecumenical patriarchate, and the patriarchate sends a delegation to Rome for the June 29 celebration of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Vatican patrons.

Patriarch Bartholomew personally attended the Sts. Peter and Paul liturgy in June 2004 and invited Pope John Paul II to return the visit in November, but the late pope's health made the trip impossible.

Pope John Paul traveled to Istanbul in 1979 to underline the church's continuing ecumenical commitment. Before him, Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras held a groundbreaking meeting in 1964 in the Holy Land.

Pope Benedict has said repeatedly that he wants to make ecumenism a priority of his pontificate.

Patriarch Bartholomew, who holds a place of special honor among the world's Orthodox leaders, welcomed Pope Benedict's election and said it was a sign of hope for ecumenism.

"The new pope, an excellent theologian, will value our church's wealth of theology and spirituality and wishes to cooperate with it and support theological dialogue," Patriarch Bartholomew said in a statement April 20.

Vatican officials would not officially confirm the papal visit. A trip to Turkey would need to involve the cooperation of the Turkish government.

Several months before his election, Pope Benedict -- then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger -- said he thought it would be a mistake to admit Turkey to the European Union, citing historical and cultural differences. Turkish officials replied that the Vatican was extraneous to the EU membership issue.

Turkey's bid to join the EU was scheduled to be discussed in October.

That's certainly the way we see it in the the GOA!

Then this is indeed "good news".

The new pope, an excellent theologian, will value our church's wealth of theology and spirituality

From an "eastern" perspective, I would tend to conjecture that he is right! Like his predecessors, John XXIII and JPII, both of whom held the Eastern Churches in great esteem, B-16 is right up there. Recall that Ratzinger incorporated an Eastern prayer service for the dead at JPII's funeral. That has proven to be a stimulous for RCs who now seek to learn more about the 'other lung' of the church.

Our Maronite parish will commemorate its Centennial this year. The Maronite Bishop Mansour will officiate at the Divine Liturgy on December 4. His RC counterpart here in Albany, Bishop Hubbard (a liberal) will assist at this liturgy. As a member of the Centennial committee, I have been assigned the task of working with the media. In so doing, I contacted the RC diocesan newspaper 'The Evangelist'. Initially, they were not interested in covering this event. But I reminded the reporter of JPII's funeral and the interest piqued by the final 'eastern' blessing, which has generated much interest in the eastern traditions.

The diocesan paper convened a staff meeting to discuss upcoming events to be incorporated into future editions of 'The Evangelist'. The next day, I received a phone call from the reporter advising me that the RC paper will cover the event and send a reporter to take photographs. Needless to say, I am more than pleased and have sent them a wealth of information on the Maronite Church, our particular parish history, and the biographical backgrounds on our Maronite Patriarch, Bishop and pastor.

All things in God's time!

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