Unofficial Translation of the Speech of Pope Benedict XVI. at the Presidency of the Religious Affairs of Turkey

(Ankara, November 28, 2006)

I am grateful for the opportunity to visit this land, so rich in history and culture, to admire its natural beauty, to witness for myself the creativity of the Turkish people, and to appreciate your ancient culture and long history, both civil and religious.

As soon as I arrived in Turkey, I was graciously received by the President of the Republic and the Government Representative. In greeting them, I was pleased to express my profound esteem for all the people of this great country and to pay my respects at the tomb of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

I now have the joy of meeting you, the President of the Religious Affairs Directorate. I offer you my sentiments of respect, in recognition of your great responsibilities, and I extend my greetings to all the religious leaders of Turkey, especially the Grand Muftis of Ankara and Istanbul. In your person, Mr President, I greet all the Muslims in Turkey with particular esteem and affectionate regard.

Your country is very dear to Christians: many of the earliest Church communities were founded here and grew to maturity, inspired by the preaching of the Apostles, particularly Saint Paul and Saint John. The tradition has come down to us that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, lived at Ephesus, in the home of the Apostle Saint John.

This noble land has also seen a remarkable flowering of Islamic civilization in the most diverse fields, including its literature and art, as well as its institutions.

There are so many Christian and Muslim monuments that bear witness to Turkey's glorious past. You rightly take pride in these, preserving them for the admiration of the ever increasing number of visitors who flock here.

I have set out upon my visit to Turkey with the same sentiments as those expressed by my predecessor Blessed John XXIII, when he came here as Archbishop Giuseppe Roncalli, to fulfil the office of Papal Representative in Istanbul: "I am fond of the Turks, to whom the Lord has sent me ... I love the Turks, I appreciate the natural qualities of these people who have their own place reserved in the march of civilization" (Journal of a Soul, pp. 228, 233-4).

For my own part, I also wish to highlight the qualities of the Turkish population. Here I make my own the words of my immediate predecessor, Pope John Paul II of blessed memory, who said on the occasion of his visit in 1979: "I wonder if it is not urgent, precisely today when Christians and Muslims have entered a new period of history, to recognize and develop the spiritual bonds that unite us, in order to preserve and promote together, for the benefit of all men, 'peace, liberty, social justice and moral values'" (Address to the Catholic Community in Ankara, 28 November 1979).

These questions have continued to present themselves throughout the intervening years; indeed, as I indicated at the very beginning of my Pontificate, they impel us to cany forward our dialogue as a sincere exchange between friends. When I had the joy of meeting members of Muslim communities last year in Cologne, on the occasion of World Youth Day, I reiterated the need to approach our interreligious and intercultural dialogue with optimism and hope. It cannot be reduced to an optional extra: on the contrary, it is "a vital necessity, on which in large measure our future depends" (Address to representatives of some Muslim Communities, Cologne, 20 August 2005).

Christians and Muslims, following their respective religions, point to the truth of the sacred character and dignity of the person. This is the basis of our mutual respect and esteem, this is the basis for cooperation in the service of peace between nations and peoples, the dearest wish of all believers and all people of good will.

For more than forty years, the teaching of the Second Vatican Council has inspired and guided the approach taken by the Holy See and by local Churches throughout the world to relations with the followers of other religions. Following the Biblical tradition, the Council teaches that the entire human race shares a common origin and a common destiny: God, our Creator and the goal of our earthly pilgrimage. Christians and Muslims belong to the family of those who believe in the one God and who, according to their respective traditions, trace their ancestry to Abraham (cf. Second Vatican Council, Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions Nostra Aetate 1, 3). This human and spiritual unity in our origins and our destiny impels us to seek a common path as we play our part in the quest for fundamental values so characteristic of the people of our time. As men and women of religion, we are challenged by the widespread longing for justice, development, solidarity, freedom, security, peace, defence of life, protection of the environment and of the resources of the earth. This is because we too, while respecting the legitimate autonomy of temporal affairs, have a specific contribution to offer in the search for proper solutions to these pressing questions.

Above all, we can offer a credible response to the question which emerges clearly from today's society, even if it is often brushed aside, the question about the meaning and purpose of life, for each individual and for humanity as a whole. We are called to work together, so as to help society to open itself to the transcendent, giving Almighty God his rightful place. The best way forward is via authentic dialogue between Christians and Muslims, based on truth and inspired by a sincere wish to know one another better, respecting differences and recognizing what we have in common. This will lead to an authentic respect for the responsible choices that each person makes, especially those pertaining to fundamental values and to personal religious convictions.

As an illustration of the fraternal respect with which Christians and Muslims can work together, I would like to quote some words addressed by Pope Gregory VII in 1076 to a Muslim prince in North Africa who had acted with great benevolence towards the Christians under his jurisdiction. Pope Gregory spoke of the particular charity that Christians and Muslims owe to one another "because we believe in one God, albeit in a different manner, and because we praise him and worship him every day as the Creator and Ruler of the world."

Freedom of religion, institutionally guaranteed and effectively respected in practice, both for individuals and communities, constitutes for all believers the necessary condition for their loyal contribution to the building up of society, in an attitude of authentic service, especially towards the most vulnerable and the poor.

Mr President, I should like to finish by praising the Almighty and merciful God for this happy occasion that brings us together in his name. I pray that it may be a sign of our joint commitment to dialogue between Christians and Muslims, and an encouragement to persevere along that path, in respect and friendship. May we come to know one another better, strengthening the bonds of affection between us in our common wish to live together in harmony, peace and mutual trust. As believers, we draw from our prayer the strength that is needed to overcome all traces of prejudice and to bear joint witness to our firm faith in God. May his blessing be ever upon us!

 

MEDIA STATEMENT BY
PROF. DR. ALÝ BARDAKOĐLU,
PRESIDENT OF THE RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS OF TURKEY

On the Occasion of Receiving the Pope Benedict XVI
During the Visit to Turkey (Ankara- November 28, 2006)

The Spiritual Leader of the Catholic World, His Excellency the Pope,
Esteemed Christian Theologians and Men of Religion,
Esteemed Muslim Theologians and Men of Religion,
Esteemed Diplomatic and Political Representatives,
Distinguished Media Representatives,
Dear Guests,

I greet all of you with respect.

I welcome all of you to our country, a country that has always been the harbor for all the different cultural and religious experiences of mankind and its traditions in all kind all the way through its thousand years old history, and to our Presidency, which regards the preservation of all the differences in belief and culture in an atmosphere of freedom and mutual respect as a humane responsibility.

Anatolia, where our country is located, has been, indeed, the cradle of the Divine religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam and many other ancient religions, cultures and civilizations. We, Muslims who happened to choose Anatolia as homeland, a place which has embraced all the beauties of Islamic Civilization for the last ten centuries, continue, today as in the past, to conceive the preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of the other religions as well as the preservation of the religious and cultural diversity both as respect for the values passed over from the past and the prerequisite for the exalted tolerance of Islam. I hope that our Esteemed Guests will have the opportunity to witness these beauties closely during their stay in our country.

Dear Guest,
 

A divine religion is certainly the source of peace and well-being. Religion is a helping hand extended by the Creator to the mankind in order for him to attain happiness in this world and to reach eternal salvation hereafter; it is the knowledge of the Divine truth called onto by Him. Thanks to religion, we know the Creator and ourselves; we comprehend the real meaning of existence, and achieve peace in our internal and external lives . All the prophets of God from Adam to Noah, from Abraham to Moses, from Jesus to Mohammed (peace be upon them all) have been chosen to be the messengers and guides of this Divine call of peace, love and emancipation. What is upon us is to serve mankind to attain peace and tranquility by passing this holy message sent by God and delivered by all the prophets over to the future generations in the best manner possible. We, then, may be the true callers of the absolute good and truth, eternal emancipation and happiness, to the extent that we follow the path of these great emissaries with loyalty and sincerity, and carry this great trust which we have received from them.

However, with the advent of an overwhelmingly profane life style in our era having a deaf ear to the Divine message, we regretfully observe that many adverse factors overshadowed this Divine call leading to a major deviation in our spiritual, ethical and humanitarian world. Consequently, the need of today’s people for embracing the religious call, who are struggling with various material and spiritual problems, depressed, and became more alienated and mundane day by day, is no less than as it was yesterday. Hence, we, as men of religion, theologians and religious institutions have to give our utmost effort to help them overcome this state of despair.

Throughout history, the main obstacle against the dictum “we all are the children of Adam” that the Divine Message has constantly emphasized together with its attached ideal of brotherhood and love, has been the ill-fated human attempt and tendency, who tend to realize self-existence only in association with certain race, religion, language and culture as per manifestation of the divine wisdom, towards using this state of affaires as ground for clashes and distrust, instead of seeing it as the enrichment of mankind. Here, we theologians, who are in a position to lead the believers to truth and goodness, and to guide them, are faced with a very sensitive responsibility. This requires us to preserve not only those religious traditions which we represent and of which we are honored to be a member, but also –may be more importantly so– act in conformity with the reality that all such religious, ethnic and cultural differences are the manifestation of Divine love, mercy and wisdom. We sincerely believe that that only such a perception and full commitment to its requisites can provide the key assurance for the mankind to live in peace and security.

We also sincerely believe that, the member of different religions and convictions should be able to come together for talking with open mind and should contribute jointly to the solution of the problems faced by mankind, without feeling any need to approve or judge each other’s religion. Moreover, nobody should use this joint effort in order to proselytize for his own religion or to favor only the members of his own religion. When religious leaders come together, they should concentrate on exploring ways and means to solve the common problems of mankind, without trying to demonstrate the superiority of their own beliefs and without loosing time by discussing the theological details of religions.

Dear Guest,

We are going through an era called globalization in which the pains of its effects are being deeply felt all over and very high prices are being paid in a manner that shakes the lives of all of us. Education, health, security, nourishment, hunger, poverty and environmental problems, terror and violence, ideological wars and unrelenting wars of self-interest, underdevelopment caused by colonialism and injustice are only a few of these pains. In truth, none of these problems originate from religion. On the contrary, divine religions must have a strong message that can contribute to solutions of these problems. We all have to struggle with the issues not by the discriminative characteristics of religious identities as social phenomena, but by recognition of their identifying and uniting characteristics of divine truths as basis of dialogue and cooperation. We should not let these problems turn into violence, tension, resentment and hatred. We, religious leaders, have an obligation to refuse to be an instrument of tensions and machination of international politics; instead we should continue to contribute to the solution of these urgent social problems. During the last fifty years, much blood and tear have been shed in the Middle East in the name of peace; the dignity and honor of humanity have been disregarded in the name of human rights and democracy, and enough efforts have been exerted to label all types of terror and conflicts as religious. Now, it is high time that we translate our wish for establishing a fair and lasting peace into concrete steps.

Dear Guest,

The modern world is facing an ethical and moral crisis. This crisis is destroying the nature of mankind, the individual and social life, as well as the mental and moral health of our children. Our world is under the threat of the swift degeneration of family values and harmful habits such as narcotics, prostitution, epidemic diseases and alcohol and many other similar perils. There is no doubt that belief and religious practice play an important role in combating these problems. Religious institutions need to take the lead in the struggle against the erosion of family values, eliminating all types of discrimination against women, raising our children in a sound and healthy condition without any exploitation, preserving the youth from all types of bad habits which they are exposed to.

Dear Guest,

We, Muslims condemn all types of violence and terror, regardless of whoever commits it against whosever, and we regard it as a crime against humanity. We are the members of a religion which reckons that shedding the blood of an innocent person is a heavy crime and sin equal to killing all humanity. However, we all regret to observe that during the recent times Islamophobia has been in escalation promoting such notions that the religion of Islam with its sources and history encourages violence, that Islam has spread by force of sword and that Muslims are potentially violent. I wish to make it known to all that each member of Islam whose name originates from peace, is very much deeply touched and offended by such accusations and claims which are not based on any historical fact and on any scientific research nor do they commensurate with any sense of justice and fairness. Moreover, it should not be forgotten that such accusations and attempts can only serve to encourage those who perform wrong-doings on behalf of religion by way of exploitation.

Prejudices are nourished mainly by historical fears and concerns. The establishment of universal peace and tranquility should be based on the fact that we, men of religion and religious institutes should not be the captive of such prejudices nourished by such fears and concerns, and we need to act always with common sense.

As is well-known, each religion has its own principles of belief, worship and cultural world. Our religious adherence has no difficulty in recognizing the truths of the previous divine religions, and it, thus , refuses to make any discrimination against any prophets. The basic principles of Islam and its internal categories have firmly established that the reason is the essential criterion in the sphere of both theory and practice. Belief of Allah in Islam forms, as each individual’s direct responsibility to God, the basis for freedom of building piety with his own free will in the light of the knowledge of religion and rational thinking. Consequently, we tend to keep always open, in tolerance and mutual respect, the channels of dialogue by taking the true knowledge and good will as a firm basis. We firmly believe that in our world today it is of crucial importance to make any progress in the way of divine realities and humane purposes.

I view this visit of His Holiness the Pope to our country as a positive step towards cultivating a culture of reconciliation amongst the members of different religions, beliefs, cultures and civilizations for prevailing the understanding of mutual respect, justice and rightness, and I wish that this practice through revitalization and implementation would grow stronger on high moral foundations.

As I conclude, I would like to extend my wishes of health and goodness to the esteemed religious leader of the Catholic world, the Pope Benedict XVI, and well being to the Community he represents, and I salute all of you with respect on my behalf and my Presidency .

Thank You.

 

 

Speech of Pope Benedict XVI addressed to Diplomatic Corp in Ankara, Turkey, 28 November 2006

 

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

I greet you with great joy, Ambassadors charged with the noble task of representing your countries to the Republic of Turkey, and assembled here in the Nunciature to meet the Successor of Peter. I am grateful to your Vice-Dean, the Ambassador of Lebanon, for the kind words which he has addressed to me. I am pleased to reconfirm the appreciation that the Holly See has often expressed for the important duties that you perform, which today take on an increasingly global dimension. In fact, while your mission calls you above all to protect and promote the legitimate interests of your respective nations, “the inevitable interdependence which today increasingly unites peoples of the world, invites diplomats to be, in a new and original way, promoters of understanding, international security and peace between nations” (John Paul II, Address to the Diplomatic Corps, Mexico, 29 June 1979).

 

I want to begin by calling to mind the memorable visits of my two predecessors in Turkey, Pope Paul VI in 1967 and Pope John Paul II in 1979. Nor could I fail to mention Pope Benedict XV, the untiring promoter of peace during World War I, and Blessed John XXIII, the Pope known as the “friend of Turks”, who after his years as Apostolic Delegate in Turkey and Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Vicariate of Istanbul, left everyone with the memory of an attentive and loving pastor, particularly eager to meet and come to know the Turkish people, whose grateful guest he was! I am therefore happy to be a guest of Turkey today, having come here as a friend and as an apostle of dialogue and peace.

 

More than forty years ago, the Second Vatican Council wrote that “Peace is more than the absence of war: it cannot be reduced to the maintenance of a balance of power between opposing forces… but it is the fruit of the right ordering of things with which the divine founder has invested human society and which must be brought about by humanity in its thirst for an ever more perfect reign of justice” (Gaudium et Spes, 78). We have come to realize that true peace needs justice, to correct the economic imbalances and political disturbances which always give rise to tension and threaten every society. The recent developments in terrorism and in certain regional conflicts have highlighted the need to respect the decisions of international institutions and also to support them, in particular by giving them effective means to prevent conflicts and to maintain neutral zones between belligerents, through the presence of peacekeeping forces.

 

All this, however, remains insufficient unless there is authentic dialogue, that is to say fruitful debate between the parties concerned, in order to arrive at lasting and acceptable political solutions, respectful of persons and peoples. I am thinking most especially of the disturbing conflict in the Middle East, which shows no sign of abating and weighs heavily on the whole of international life; I am thinking of the risk of peripheral conflicts multiplying and terrorist actions spreading. I appreciate the efforts of numerous countries currently engaged in rebuilding peace in Lebanon, Turkey among them.

 

In your presence, Ambassadors, I appeal once more to the vigilance of the international community, that it not abandon its responsibilities, but make every effort to promote dialogue among all parties involved, which alone can guarantee respect for others, while safeguarding legitimate interests and rejecting recourse to violence. As I wrote in my first World Day of Peace Message, “the truth of peace calls upon everyone to cultivate productive and sincere relationships; it encourages them to seek out and to follow the paths of forgiveness and reconciliation, to be transparent in their dealings with others, and to be faithful to their word” (1 January 2006, 6).

 

Turkey has always served as a bridge between East and West, between Asia and Europe, and as a crossroads of cultures and religions. During the last century, she acquired the means to become a great modern State notably by the choice of secular regime, with a clear distinction between civil society and religion, each of which was to be autonomous in its proper domain while respecting the sphere of the other. The fact that majority of the population of this country is Muslim is a significant element in the life of society, which the State cannot fail to take into account, yet the Turkish Constitution recognizes every citizen’s right to freedom of worship and freedom of conscience. The civil authorities of every democratic country are duty bound to guarantee the effective freedom of all believers and to permit them to organize freely the life of their religious communities.

 

Naturally it is my hope that believers, whichever religious community they belong to, will continue to benefit from these rights, since I am certain that religious liberty is a fundamental expression of human liberty and that the active presence of religions in society is a source of progress and enrichment for all. This assumes, of course, that religions do not seek to exercise direct political power, as that is not their province, and it also assumes that they utterly refuse to sanction recourse to violence as a legitimate expression of religion. In this regard, I appreciate the work of the Catholic community in Turkey, small in number but deeply committed to contributing all it can to the country’s development, notably by educating the young and by building peace and harmony among all citizens.

 

As I have recently observed, “we are in great need of an authentic dialogue between religions and between cultures, capable of assisting us, in a spirit of fruitful co-operation, to overcome all the tensions together (Address to the Ambassadors of Countries with a Muslim Majority, Castel Gandolfo, 25 September 2006) This dialogue must enable different religions to come to know one another better and to respect one another, in order to work fort he fulfillment of man’s noblest aspirations, in search of God and in search of happiness.

 

For my part, on the occasion of my visit to Turkey, I wish to reiterate my great esteem for Muslims, encouraging them to continue to work together, in mutual respect, to promote the dignity of every human being and the growth of a society where personal freedom and care for others provide peace and serenity for all. In this way, religions will be able to play their part in responding to the numerous challenges currently facing our societies. Assuredly, recognition of the positive role of religions within the fabric of society can and must impel us to explore more deeply their knowledge of man and to respect this dignity, by placing him at the centre of political, economic, cultural and social activity. Our world must come to realize that all people are linked by profound solidarity with one another, and they must be encouraged to assert their historical and cultural differences not fort he sake of confrontation, but in order to foster mutual respect.

 

The Church, as you know, has received a spiritual mission from her Founder and therefore she has no intention of intervening directly in political or economic life. However, by virtue of her mission and her long experience of the history of societies and cultures, she wishes to make her voice heard in international debate, so that man’s fundamental dignity, especially that of the weakest, may always be honored. Given the recent development of the phenomenon of globalized communications, the Holy See looks to the international community to give a clearer lead by establishing rules for better control of economic development, regulating markets, and fostering regional accords between countries. I have no doubt, Ladies and Gentlemen, that in your mission as diplomats you are eager to harmonize the particular interests of your country with the need to maintain good relations with other countries, and that in this way you can contribute significantly to the service of all.

 

The voice of the Church on the diplomatic scene is always characterized by the Gospel commitment to serve the cause of humanity, and I would be failing in this fundamental obligation if I did not remind you of the need always to place human dignity at the very heart of our concerns. The world is experiencing an extraordinary development of science and technology, with almost immediate consequences for medicine, agriculture and food production, but also for the communication of knowledge; this process must not lack direction or a human point of reference, when it relates to birth, education, manner of life or work, of old age, or death. It is necessary to re-position modern progress within the continuity of our human history and thus to guide it according to the plan written into our nature for the growth of humanity—a plan expressed by the words of the book of Genesis as follows: “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it” (1:28).

 

Finally, as my thoughts turn to the first Christian communities that sprang up in this land, and especially to the Apostle Paul who established several of them himself, allow me to quote from his Letter to the Galatians: “You were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another” (5:13). I sincerely hope that the good relations between nations, which it is your task to serve, may also contribute increasingly to the genuine growth of humanity, created in the image of God. Such a noble goal requires the contribution of all.

 

For this reason the Catholic Church intends to renew its co-operation with the Orthodox and I hope that my forthcoming meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Phanar will effectively serve this objective. As the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council emphasized, the Church seeks to cooperate with believers and leaders of all religions, and especially with Muslims, in order that together they may “preserve and promote peace, liberty, social justice and moral values” (Nostra Aetate, 3). I hope, from this viewpoint, that my journey to Turkey will bring abundant fruits. Ambassadors, Ladies and Gentlemen, upon you, upon your families and upon all your co-workers, I invoke with all my heart the Blessings of the Almighty.  

 

 

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