"As for Bartholomew I, he makes no secret of his hopes that the visit of Benedict XVI to Turkey in November may help boost religious freedom and minority rights, both Catholic and Orthodox."
(sigh) Yep, the Patriarch looks to the pope, THE BISHOP OF ROME, to make something happen for him in his own country. If that isn't a tacit recognition of the reality of the importance of the pope EVEN FOR THE EASTERN ORTHODOX then nothing is.
Two voices are stronger than one. Pope BXVI is responding to the invitation of the Patriarch, to lend him his support, to visit the church where a catholic priest was murdered in cold blood earlier this year and to speak with the President, despite the warnings and threats on his life. Let us pray that this school will be opened once again and that the religious freedom of all christians will be recognized.