In Ephesus, Supreme Pontiff becomes a simple country pastor
Print Friendly VersionBy JOHN L. ALEN JR.
Ephesus, Turkey
On a beautiful fall afternoon on a Turkish hillside, Pope Benedict XVI, Supreme Pontiff of the 1.1 billion-strong Roman Catholic Church, metamorphosed into a simple country pastor, celebrating an outdoor Mass for no more than 300 pilgrims – perhaps half Germans who belong to the nearby German-language parish of St. Nicholas.
It was the smallest crowd in recent memory for a papal Mass, though the turnout was mostly due to the remote location and the tiny size of Turkey’s Christian community. The event had an intimate feel, with the assembly physically closer to the pope than is often the case. The bank of concelebrating priests, bishops and cardinals almost seemed equal to the size of the congregation.
In a fitting pastoral touch, Benedict XVI spoke the opening collect of the Mass in Turkish, drawing appreciative nods from the assembly.
Predictably, the pope’s message centered on Mary. The Sanctuary of Meryem Ana Evì (the “House of Mary”) was founded by the Lazarist Fathers in the 19th century, based on the visions of the German mystic Anna Katherine Emmerick, who identified this spot as the place where Mary died.
Though even the official Vatican Radio trip book notes that there’s no archaeological evidence to support the claim, the sanctuary nevertheless boasts a unique distinction, in that it’s perhaps the only Marian shrine on earth which draws as many Muslim pilgrims as Christians. Inside are votive reliefs with quotations from seven passages of the Qu’ran praising Mary.
Invoking the reverence which Muslims have for Mary, Benedict implored the small crowd to “lift up a prayer to the Lord, a special prayer for peace between peoples.” He referred to the Anatolian peninsula as “a natural bridge between continents.”
Benedict also again recalled the memory of Pope John XXIII, who served as Apostolic Delegate in Turkey from 1933 to 1945. Benedict quoted the late pope as saying, “I love the Turks.”
For Turkey’s tiny Christian community, estimated at roughly 100,000 among Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants, it’s becoming steadily more clear that Benedict’s trip represents something of a “coming out” event, emboldening them to be more vocal about their presence and the struggles their communities face.
Eisn Tunali, 38, is a Muslim covert to Protestantism who drove six hours to attend the papal Mass in Ephesus. She told NCR that when she converted to Christianity six years ago, it took three months to have her new religious affiliation reflected on her Turkish identity card, and her request actually elicited a period of police surveillance.
“They told me that Islam is the third revelation of God” after Judaism and Christianity, Tunali said. “They asked why I wanted to go back.”
Today, Tunali said, things are becoming easier in some ways – as reflected by the fact, she said, that today it only takes about five minutes to change the identity card.
Asked about Benedict XVI’s comments on Islam at the University of Regensburg, Tunali said she agreed with the substance of what the pope had tried to say, but not with the language. She said this trip allows Turks to get a different impression of the pope.
“They can see that anybody can make a mistake,” she said. “This is kind of like an apology.”
I am a wanna-be faithful
I am a wanna-be faithful Catholic, who makes a serious effort to promote the complete set of social doctrine principles- not just the 'liberal' or 'conservative' favorites. What I loved about JPII's counsel on dealing with the Middle East issues is how he consistently affirmed the global solidarity we all share as being God's children- no matter our national and cultural distinctions. From this perspective, one would have to honestly deal with the root causes and conditions of life, that tempt ordinary people in the Middle East, to seek violent means of addressing various injustices which they face. Even a casual study of the Palestinian tragedy, or the colonial/neo-colonialism in the entire region after WWI, would indicate that the Western powers have a lot to do with the bad blood that currently exists.
I would hope and pray that Pope Benedict will start giving the issue of Western neo-colonialism equal treatment with his critique of Islam and the use of violence, and the need for reciprocity in granting full religious freedome for minority religions. The two issue seem to be so interrelated. The Christian minorities in Muslim countries suffer to a great extent due to the history of Western political and economic powers treating the Arab and Persian peoples like chess pieces in their geopolitical wars, and as mere economic units bringing oil revenues to a few large multinational corporate concerns. Before the Iraq invasion even took place, I warned a colleague who supported the war- "How long before the Iraqi Christians become the targets of a hostile local population?". Our US policies in the Holy Land have helped to drive the Palestinian Christians into near-extinction. And we sit back and blame the Muslims for the demise of Middle Eastern Christianity. We have no moral high ground to judge them unfortunately. Until we neutralize our foreign policies, away from occupation and neo-colonialism, we will not come close to fulfilling the social doctrine principle of acting in global solidarity. And Christians will continue to be made scapegoats for Western political/economic establishment policies- and Muslims will continue to push for more Islamic dominance as the only way to exercise their patriotism in the face of such powerful foreign forces.
The Pope needs to be hammering at the plank in our own Western eyes, and only then will he have the credibility to address Islam's dark side. Ideally, he could link the end of neo-colonialism to the issue of reciprocity for full religious freedom for Christians in Muslim countries. At present we have a severe credibility gap- the West is viewed as hypocrites because we have so many double-standards when it comes to our foreign policies in the Middle East. One 'anything goes' standard for ourselves and our allies- Israel in particular- and another standard for the native populations and their representatives. Just look at the case study of Iran. Back in 1953 the CIA orchestrated a coup to topple a democratically-elected Prime Minister, who was an admirer of the American Revolutionaries. His only crime was that he sought to nationalize Iran's oil industry away from British control. This was legal but unacceptable to the US-UK establishments, and so the corrupt autocratic Shah was brought back to the throne- surrounded by brutal secret police trained by our CIA. So- exactly who is to blame for how Islam has emerged as a powerful force of unity for the region?