Pope’s Visit To Turkey Begins With Peaceful Message

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Turkey on Tuesday, hoping to mend fences over controversial comments he made two months ago linking violence with the Prophet Muhammad.

In his first visit to a Muslim country, Benedict seemed to offer a hopeful message that Christians and Muslims could get along.

“All feel the same responsibility in this difficult moment in history, let’s work together,” Benedict said on the flight to Ankara.

“We know that the scope of this trip is dialogue and brotherhood and the commitment for understanding between cultures … and for reconciliation.”

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a change of plans, decided to welcome the pontiff at the foot of the plane.

“I want to express happiness to see you and your delegation in our country,” Erdogan told the pope as they headed to a private meeting. Erdogan called the visit “very meaningful.”

The trip is a sensitive one – and the pope’s actions could either help heal wounds between Christian and Islamic worlds or deepen them.

In September, the pontiff infuriated the Muslim world when he quoted a 14th century Christian emperor who called the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings “evil and inhuman.”

Benedict later expressed sorrow for the violent backlash that followed.

Ankara was under heavy security, including about 3,000 sharpshooters, as the pope arrived. A small protest was held in the city ahead of Benedict’s arrival, with signs that read, “You’re not welcome, Pope.”

A heavily scrutinized portion of the four-day trip will occur on Thursday when the pontiff visits Haghia Sophia, a 1,500-year-old site that was originally a Byzantine church and eventually became a mosque after the Muslims conquered Istanbul – then Constantinople – in 1453. Any religious gesture will be seen by Turks as offensive, since the building is now a museum.

Pope Paul VI prayed at the site in 1967, setting off protests, while Pope John Paul II avoided such religious signs during his visit in 1979.