Pontiff must also address regional peace, interreligious relations and migration
On his first international trip, he appealed for peace and asked the president of , where he landed this Thursday (26), to play a “stabilizing” role in a “strongly conflictual” global context.
The pontiff arrived in Ankara shortly after noon. He was received at the presidential palace by the head of state, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the playing of the anthems of Turkey and cannon salutes. “Mr President [Erdogan]may Turkey be a factor of stability and rapprochement between peoples, at the service of a just and lasting peace”, stated the pontiff.
“Today, more than ever, we need people who promote dialogue and practice it with firmness and patience. After the era of the construction of great international organizations, which followed the tragedies of the two world wars, we are going through a phase of great conflict at a global level, in which strategies of economic and military power prevail”, fueling what Pope Francis called a “third world war in pieces” – that is, little by little, in a fragmented way.
The trip comes amid tensions in the Middle East and heavy media attention in the United States, as he is the first American pope. In Türkiye, Leo will participate in the celebrations of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, will pray with the ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew and sign a joint declaration as a gesture of unity between Catholics and Orthodox.
Upon arrival, the Pope crossed a capital taken by security forces to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), founder of modern Türkiye and symbol of the secular Republic.
In recent years, the country’s secular status has been questioned by the increase in religious nationalism and the politicization of symbols such as the Hagia Sophia basilica in Istanbul, transformed into a mosque in 2020. Despite this, the Vatican seeks to maintain dialogue with Ankara, which it considers essential for peace in the region.
The Holy See recognizes the efforts made by Türkiye to welcome more than 2.5 million refugees into its territory, the vast majority of them Syrians, according to authorities. In this sense, the leader of Catholics followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, Francis, by recently criticizing the “extremely disrespectful” treatment directed at migrants by the American administration of Donald Trump.
In Lebanon, he will seek to support Christians and other communities affected by the crisis, in addition to praying at the site of the Beirut port explosion in 2020. The pope will speak in English in Turkey and in English and French in Lebanon, abandoning Italian. The Vatican says there were no extra security measures, although the region is experiencing a new increase in tension following recent attacks.
Leão is also expected to address regional peace, inter-religious relations and migration. Local leaders hope he will seek justice for an explosion at Beirut’s port in 2020 and offer support to young Lebanese in the face of the economic crisis.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
