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Turkey PM Erdogan snubs Pope: Italian papers
Thu Nov 2, 2006 8:35 AM ET
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's decision not to meet Pope Benedict during his visit to Turkey is a diplomatic snub following the pontiff's recent criticism of Islam, Italian commentators said on Thursday.
"You can paint this any way you want but from a western point of view, this is bad manners," said a front-page editorial in Rome's Il Messaggero newspaper.
Vatican observers said it was very rare for a head of government to not have some kind of meeting with a visiting pope.
"Erdogan Snubs Pope," said La Stampa of Turin, which called the lack of a meeting "another cold shower over the trip".
Erdogan's office said he will be attending a NATO summit in Latvia for the first two days of the Pope's November 28 - December 1 trip and will be busy with other meetings in Turkey after that.
"If there was a possibility for a meeting the prime minister would have met him," a Turkish government official told Reuters.
The Vatican has tried to downplay the controversy.
A spokesman said the Vatican knew from the start of planning for the trip that Erdogan would be out of the country for part of it and was told he would "try for but could not guarantee" a meeting with Pope.
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and other cabinet ministers will be meeting with the Pope, the Turkish officials said. Sezer, a staunch secularist often at odds with Erdogan, a pious Muslim, extended the invitation to the Pope and will be his host in Ankara.
Benedict's first visit to Turkey has been overshadowed by Muslim anger since a September lecture he gave at a German university in which he quoted a 14th-century Byzantine Emperor in a passage seen as critical of the Prophet Mohammad.
Leading Turkish newspaper Sabah said Erdogan was "escaping the Pope". Some of the strongest criticism of Benedict has come from Turkey, where nationalists and Islamic activists have pushed for the trip to be canceled.
The Pope or Vatican officials have said at least a dozen times since that his comments had been misunderstood.
The papal visit was not officially confirmed until October 16 and its main purpose is a meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual head of the world's Orthodox Christians, to discuss Christian unity.
The leader of more than one billion Catholics has several times expressed regret for the reaction to the speech but has stopped short of the unequivocal apology wanted by some Muslims.
Even before the controversy over his comments on Islam, the Pope was already viewed with suspicion in Turkey.
When he was still Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and worked as the Vatican's top doctrinal official, the future Pope said he was against Turk
Thu Nov 2, 2006 8:35 AM ET
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's decision not to meet Pope Benedict during his visit to Turkey is a diplomatic snub following the pontiff's recent criticism of Islam, Italian commentators said on Thursday.
"You can paint this any way you want but from a western point of view, this is bad manners," said a front-page editorial in Rome's Il Messaggero newspaper.
Vatican observers said it was very rare for a head of government to not have some kind of meeting with a visiting pope.
"Erdogan Snubs Pope," said La Stampa of Turin, which called the lack of a meeting "another cold shower over the trip".
Erdogan's office said he will be attending a NATO summit in Latvia for the first two days of the Pope's November 28 - December 1 trip and will be busy with other meetings in Turkey after that.
"If there was a possibility for a meeting the prime minister would have met him," a Turkish government official told Reuters.
The Vatican has tried to downplay the controversy.
A spokesman said the Vatican knew from the start of planning for the trip that Erdogan would be out of the country for part of it and was told he would "try for but could not guarantee" a meeting with Pope.
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and other cabinet ministers will be meeting with the Pope, the Turkish officials said. Sezer, a staunch secularist often at odds with Erdogan, a pious Muslim, extended the invitation to the Pope and will be his host in Ankara.
Benedict's first visit to Turkey has been overshadowed by Muslim anger since a September lecture he gave at a German university in which he quoted a 14th-century Byzantine Emperor in a passage seen as critical of the Prophet Mohammad.
Leading Turkish newspaper Sabah said Erdogan was "escaping the Pope". Some of the strongest criticism of Benedict has come from Turkey, where nationalists and Islamic activists have pushed for the trip to be canceled.
The Pope or Vatican officials have said at least a dozen times since that his comments had been misunderstood.
The papal visit was not officially confirmed until October 16 and its main purpose is a meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual head of the world's Orthodox Christians, to discuss Christian unity.
The leader of more than one billion Catholics has several times expressed regret for the reaction to the speech but has stopped short of the unequivocal apology wanted by some Muslims.
Even before the controversy over his comments on Islam, the Pope was already viewed with suspicion in Turkey.
When he was still Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and worked as the Vatican's top doctrinal official, the future Pope said he was against Turk
SABAH
Pope refuses Gül's meeting request
Pope Benedict has refused Minister Of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Gül's dinner invitation after NATO meeting, stating that eating is a "mundane pleasure."
During the Pope's Turkey visit between November 28 and December 1st, Prime Minister Erdoğan and Minister of Foreign Affairs Gül will be in Latvia for the NATO meeting. Due to this inconvenience Abdullah Gül has requested a later meeting (a dinner)with the Pope.
It was learned that Pope Benedict has refused Gül's suggestion stating that eating is a mundane pleasure.
Meanwhile Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Namık Tan has spoken with the media and said: "Pope Benedict's visit has great importance for Turkey. We are pleased to have the opportunity to host him. We will do our best to host him with perfection. We have taken all security measures.
Pope Benedict has refused Minister Of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Gül's dinner invitation after NATO meeting, stating that eating is a "mundane pleasure."
During the Pope's Turkey visit between November 28 and December 1st, Prime Minister Erdoğan and Minister of Foreign Affairs Gül will be in Latvia for the NATO meeting. Due to this inconvenience Abdullah Gül has requested a later meeting (a dinner)with the Pope.
It was learned that Pope Benedict has refused Gül's suggestion stating that eating is a mundane pleasure.
Meanwhile Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Namık Tan has spoken with the media and said: "Pope Benedict's visit has great importance for Turkey. We are pleased to have the opportunity to host him. We will do our best to host him with perfection. We have taken all security measures.
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