Oktay Eksi: A critical visit, a critical visitor

As you may already know, the great Ataturk some wonderful words he said about the British, Australian, and New Zealand soldiers who died fighting in Gallipoli. In short, he said:

"They lost their lives on this soil. And for as long as they are buried in this land, they are also our children."

From the moment he put his foot down on our land, Pope Benedict XVI became our guest. His hurtful statements in Germany, spoken back in September, do not change this fact. And any shame from those words is his own, not ours.

We are sure that Pope Benedict XVI is wise enough not to expect to be showered with love from the Turkish people during this visit. But at the same time, we do not expect that the Turkish people-outside the protestors-will give him a negative treatment either.

It is the least Pope Benedict XVI can do to speak well of the people and the nation he is visiting. Here, we recall that in the past, the Pope has spoken out against Turkey becoming a full EU member. Therefore, we count his words in Ankara yesterday, to the effect that "There is a place in the EU for Turkey," a rather contrived statement.

Moreover, everyone knows that, despite the fact the Pope is the official guest of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, he is really placing the most importance on his meetings with Patriarch Bartholomeus I of the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul.

Keeping this in mind, it is then clear that what Pope Benedict XVI wants to obtain from this visit is not clarity and understanding between the Christian and Muslim worlds, but between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

What we had better hope for is that, while on his way to trying and strengthen relations between Christians, the Pope does not create new tensions by speaking on certain matters of sensitivity to the general public of the nation which is hosting him. These "matters" would include the Turkish government's acceptance of the Greek Patriarch's "ecumenical" status, as well as the re-opening of the Orthodox seminary on Heybeliada.

As far as the first "ecumenical" matter is concerned, there is in no way any aspect to this question to which the Turkish Republic needs to supply an answer. Turkey does not complain to those who refer to Patriarch Bartholomeus as "ecumenical," but it also does not itself use this title, which Bartholomeus seems to love so much, itself. The Patriarchate, after all, is an organization which runs and exists according to Turkish law. And nowhere in these laws is there anything which would require the recognition of any "ecumenical" status.

As for the seminary on Heybeliada, we have written much on this subject, but in short, what Patriarch Bartholomeus is asking for is to be granted rights that supercede the law, rights which no other school in the nation enjoys. What Bartholomeus really wants where the seminary is concerned is to raise his own position and the position of the seminary above the law. It would be better if Pope Benedict XVI didn't enter into these dangerous waters.