Francis Notes and My World Today

A kinder, gentler Benedict XVI emerges in Turkey
Janis Mackey Frayer, CTV Middle East Bureau Chief Updated: Tue. Dec. 5 2006 9:57 AM ET

The sun had long faded and gave way to a chilling wind that left me questioning the logic of my situation: Standing with a gaggle of reporters and photographers on a stretch of boulevard choked by armed security. Shivering from a woeful misjudgment of Istanbul's cold. Toiling for hours for the leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics -- a journalist's vigil that had so far yielded only a blurred glimpse of his satin-capped head.

And then, something historic happened.

Pope Benedict XVI speaks with Muslim clerics as security officers and other prelates look on during a visit in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey on Nov. 30, 2006. (AP / Patrick Hertzog)

Pope Benedict XVI's motorcade arrived in front of us at the entrance of the famed Blue Mosque where the pontiff was greeted by Mustafa Cagrici, Istanbul's Grand Mufti. The two men -- resplendent in robes -- chatted warmly and posed for pictures. They lingered, like nervous freshmen on the first day of school, before climbing the stairs.

Pope Benedict XVI, without shoes, is seen during a visit in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey on Nov. 30, 2006. (AP / Patrick Hertzog)

At the door, Pope Benedict took off his shoes and became only the second Pope in the history of the papacy to enter a mosque.

A short tour followed and then, in a move that was unexpected but done with such ease, the two men stood quietly in what appeared to be prayer. Both facing Mecca. Two men of different faiths sharing the sanctity of one poignant moment.

It would become the lasting and powerful symbol of the Pope's journey to Turkey.

People had been looking for something to heal the sting inflicted only three months earlier when Pope Benedict made comments that were construed as insulting.

In a speech in Germany, he had quoted a Byzantine scholar who characterized Islam as "irrational" and "violent." Understandably, Muslims around the world were outraged.
That anger explained the extraordinary security in Turkey -- measures that far exceeded what officials employed for the visit of George W. Bush in 2004. Protests were banned during the Pope's visit but the last legal one, two days before his arrival, drew more than 20,000 people to the streets telling Benedict to stay home.

In the weeks that followed the Pope's comments the Vatican tried gesture after gesture to smooth things over. Even Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, insisted he was too busy to meet the Pope so as to distance himself from the inevitable criticism of his party's Islamic roots.

Erdogan adjusted his schedule at the last minute to greet the pontiff on the tarmac and that handshake went a long way in establishing a tone of hospitality. The Pope reciprocated by apparently telling Erdogan that he tacitly supported Turkey's bid to join the European Union, something he opposed when he was a cardinal for fear of compromising Europe's "Christian roots."

Reconciliation with Muslims it seemed was underway, punctuated by the Pope's visit to the tomb of modern Turkey's founder, his courteous walk through the Hagia Sophia where it is forbidden to pray and that defining moment facing Mecca as his lips quietly uttered words only he will know. Afterwards, the Mufti said it was, "even more meaningful than an apology."
Yet the Turkey visit was planned as a pastoral one to forge Christian unity with the Orthodox Church. For some 1,000 years there has existed a "rift." The Pope and Patriarch Bartholomew held joint services and blessings to send a message of strength and brotherhood to their faithful. Here, too, it seems the Pope achieved diplomatic success. He also made some sensitive demands -- namely, greater rights for Christian minorities in Muslim countries.

Veteran Vatican-watchers believe the visit was significant in establishing the Pope as not only an esteemed scholar and theologian but a "feeling" church leader.

"This is a kinder, gentler Benedict XVI," said author John Allen.

Pope Benedict later described his Turkey trip as an "unforgettable" experience. Some Muslims say he should do more and called the adventure "futile." Still, it seems the Pope convinced the majority of his Muslim hosts that he wants warmer relations... suggesting I wasn't the only one trying to overcome the chill in the Turkish air.