VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 212   
   DATE 29-11-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - Francis at the Diyanet: violence seeking religious justification warrants   
   the strongest condemnation   
   - Pope Francis visits the Museum of Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque   
   - Cardinal Schonborn, Pope's special envoy in Kiev   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis at the Diyanet: violence seeking religious justification warrants the   
   strongest condemnation   
    Vatican City, 28 November 2014 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, following his   
   address before the Turkish authorities in the Presidential Palace, the Holy   
   Father met with the prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, after which he proceeded   
   to the Diyanet, the Department for Religious Affairs and highest Sunni Islamic   
   authority in Turkey. Although a secular state, 98% of the Turkish population   
   is Muslim, of whom 68% are Sunni and 30% Shia. The president of the Diyanet,   
   Mehmet Gormez, welcomed the Pope upon arrival and accompanied him to his   
   office where they spoke privately for a minute. They then entered the Hall   
   together, where Francis addressed the gathered Muslim and Christian political   
   and religious leaders.   
    "It is a tradition that Popes, when they visit different countries as part of   
   their mission, meet also with the leaders and members of various religions.   
   Without this openness to encounter and dialogue, a papal visit would not fully   
   correspond to its purposes. And so I wished to meet you, following in the   
   footsteps of my venerable predecessors. In this context, I am pleased to   
   recall in a special way Pope Benedict XVI's visit to this very same place in   
   November 2006. Good relations and dialogue between religious leaders have, in   
   fact, acquired great importance. They represent a clear message addressed to   
   their respective communities which demonstrates that mutual respect and   
   friendship are possible, notwithstanding differences. Such friendship, as well   
   as being valuable in itself, becomes all the more meaningful and important in   
   a time of crisis such as our own: crises which in some parts of the world are   
   disastrous for entire peoples".   
    He continued, "Wars cause the death of innocent victims and bring untold   
   destruction, inter-ethnic and interreligious tensions and conflicts, hunger   
   and poverty afflicting hundreds of millions of people, and inflict damage on   
   the natural environment - air, water and land. Especially tragic is the   
   situation in the Middle East, above all in Iraq and Syria. Everyone suffers   
   the consequences of these conflicts, and the humanitarian situation is   
   unbearable. I think of so many children, the sufferings of so many mothers, of   
   the elderly, of those displaced and of all refugees, subject to every form of   
   violence. Particular concern arises from the fact that, owing mainly to an   
   extremist and fundamentalist group, entire communities, especially - though   
   not exclusively - Christians and Yazidis, have suffered and continue to suffer   
   barbaric violence simply because of their ethnic and religious identity. They   
   have been forcibly evicted from their homes, and have had to leave behind   
   everything to save their lives and preserve their faith. This violence has   
   also brought damage to sacred buildings, monuments, religious symbols and   
   cultural patrimony, as if trying to erase every trace, every memory of the   
   other.   
    "As religious leaders, we are obliged to denounce all violations against   
   human dignity and human rights. Human life, a gift of God the Creator,   
   possesses a sacred character. As such, any violence which seeks religious   
   justification warrants the strongest condemnation because the Omnipotent is   
   the God of life and peace. The world expects those who claim to adore God to   
   be men and women of peace who are capable of living as brothers and sisters,   
   regardless of ethnic, religious, cultural or ideological differences".   
    However, as well as denouncing such situations, he added, "we must also work   
   together to find adequate solutions. This requires the cooperation of all:   
   governments, political and religious leaders, representatives of civil   
   society, and all men and women of goodwill. In a unique way, religious leaders   
   can offer a vital contribution by expressing the values of their respective   
   traditions. We, Muslims and Christians, are the bearers of spiritual treasures   
   of inestimable worth. Among these we recognise some shared elements, though   
   lived according to the traditions of each, such as the adoration of the   
   All-Merciful God, reference to the Patriarch Abraham, prayer, almsgiving, and   
   fasting - elements which, when lived sincerely, can transform life and provide   
   a sure foundation for dignity and fraternity. Recognising and developing our   
   common spiritual heritage - through interreligious dialogue - helps us to   
   promote and to uphold moral values, peace and freedom in society. The shared   
   recognition of the sanctity of each human life is the basis of joint   
   initiatives of solidarity, compassion, and effective help directed to those   
   who suffer most. In this regard, I wish to express my appreciation for   
   everything that the Turkish people, Muslims and Christians alike, are doing to   
   help the hundreds of thousands of people who are fleeing their countries due   
   to conflicts. There are two million of them. This is a clear example of how we   
   can work together to serve others, an example to be encouraged and maintained".   
    In this regard, the Holy Father expressed his satisfaction at the good   
   relations between the Diyanet and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious   
   Dialogue. "It is my earnest desire that these relations will continue and be   
   strengthened for the good of all, so that every initiative which promotes   
   authentic dialogue will offer a sign of hope to a world so greatly in need of   
   peace, security and prosperity. Following my meeting with the president, I am   
   also hopeful that this interreligious dialogue will take on creative new   
   forms".   
    He concluded by thanking again the president of the Diyanet and his   
   collaborators for this meeting, and expressed his gratitude to all present for   
   their presence and their prayers for him and his ministry. "For my part, I   
   assure you of my prayers. May the Lord grant us all his blessing".   
    Following the encounter, the Pope transferred to the apostolic nunciature,   
   where he spent the night.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Pope Francis visits the Museum of Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque   
    Vatican City, 29 November 2014 (VIS) - This morning, Pope Francis travelled   
   by air from Ankara to Istanbul. The only city in the world divided across two   
   continents, Asia and Europe, it is situated on the banks of the Bosphorus, the   
   river that connects the Black Sea with the Mediterranean. Upon arrival he was   
   welcomed by the Governor of Istanbul and by the Ecumenical Patriarch   
   Bartholomaios I, and then transferred by car to the Blue Mosque, or the Mosque   
   of the Sultan Ahmed.   
    Built between 1609 and 1917 by Ahmed I on what had been the site of the great   
   palace of Constantinople, the mosque became the most important place of   
   worship of the Ottoman Empire. The name "Blue Mosque" derives from the 21,043   
   turquoise ceramic tiles adorning the walls and the dome. The ceramics used to   
   cover the walls, columns and arches originated from Iznik in ancient Nicaea,   
   and range in colour from deep blue to green. Benedict XVI visited the mosque   
   during his trip to Turkey in 2006. Pope Francis was received by the Grand   
   Mufti and remained a moment in silent prayer.   
    The Holy Father then proceeded to the Museum of Hagia Sophia, the basilica   
   dedicated to Divine Wisdom, first built in the year 360 by the emperor   
   Constantine on a site previously occupied by pagan temples. It was later   
   destroyed by two fires, one in 404 and another in 532, and the emperor   
   Justinian undertook its reconstruction in order to make it into "the most   
   sumptuous work since the time of Creation", ordering all the provinces of the   
   empire to provide their best marble and most prized materials. Hagia Sophia   
   was inaugurated for the third time in 537. During the conquest of   
   Constantinople in 1204, it was despoiled of its richest adornments by Latin   
   Christians and in 1453, when it fell into the hands of the Ottomans, Mehmet II   
   ordered it to be transformed into the first imperial mosque of Istanbul.   
   During the subsequent three centuries, this Muslim place of worship received   
   splendid gifts from various sultans, until the eighteenth century, when the   
   mosaics were covered with plaster. In 1847 the Sultan Abdulmegid engaged the   
   Swiss architects Gaspare and Giuseppe Fossati to uncover the mosaics and   
   restore the building. In 1935, at the behest of Ataturk, Hagia Sophia became a   
   museum, which it remains to this day. Popes Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict   
   XVI all visited it during their trips to Turkey.   
    Pope Francis was received at the Imperial Door by the director of the Museum,   
   who accompanied him on a guided tour lasting around half an hour. The Holy   
   Father signed the guest book of Hagia Sophia, first in Greek with the phrase   
   ???a ????a s?t Te?? (Holy Wisdom of God) and then in Latin: "Quam dilecta   
   tabernacula tua Domine (Psalm 38).   
    After leaving Hagia Sophia through the Beautiful Gate, Francis proceeded to   
   the papal representation where he was awaited by members of the Catholic   
   communities (Latin, Armenian, Syrian and Chaldean) of Istanbul, and where he   
   was greeted by the president of the Episcopal Conference of Turkey, Archbishop   
   Ruggero Franceschini, O.F.M. Cap.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Cardinal Schonborn, Pope's special envoy in Kiev   
    Vatican City, 29 November 2014 (VIS) - In a letter published today, written   
   in Latin and dated 18 November, the Holy Father nominated Cardinal Christoph   
   Schonborn, archbishop of Vienna, as his special envoy at the celebration of   
   the 25th anniversary of the liberation of the Greek-Catholic Church in   
   Ukraine, scheduled to take place in Kiev on 10 December 2014.   
    The mission accompanying the cardinal will be composed of Rev. Yurij Kolasa,   
   vicar for Greek-Catholics in Austria, and Rev. Ihor Sfiaban, head of the   
   Ecumenical Commission of the Curia of the Major Archbishop.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
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