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Preserving Christian role
Beatification of John XXIII stirred new interest

Pope John Paul II met in February with the bishops of Turkey, and told them that “the Church of Christ must be truly involved in the life of Turkish society.”  

The members of the Turkish episcopal conference were in Rome for their ad limina visit. The Pope encouraged them to “pursue dialogue with patience and determination” with public authorities and leaders of other religious bodies. He added that the role of Christians in the predominantly Islamic country should be more pronounced today, as Turkey seeks to strengthen ties with Europe. 

There are only about 100,000 Catholics in the six dioceses of Turkey, which include the Armenian, Chaldean, and Syrian Catholic churches. The Pope made a special mention of the importance of ecumenical dialogue with the Eastern Orthodox, pointing out that the year 2001 furnishes a rare occasion when the Roman and Orthodox churches celebrate Easter at the same time. 

The Catholics of Turkey—and in fact the nation as a whole—took a keen interest in the beatification of Pope John XXIII, which was celebrated last September 3 in Rome. Archbishop Angelo Roncalli—the future John XXIII—spent 10 years in Turkey as apostolic delegate. At the time of his beatification, Cardinal Paul Poupard presided at a ceremony in Turkey in which political and religious leaders—Muslim, Jewish, and Christian—paid their own tributes to “the Pope who was a friend of the Turks.”