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Istanbul statue honors ?great Pontiff? Benedict
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Istanbul statue honors ?great Pontiff? Benedict
Just off a busy main street in central Istanbul stands a towering statue of Pope Benedict, with a plaque hailing him as ?the benefactor of all people, regardless of nationality or religion?. Pope Benedict, now under fire in the Muslim world for recent remarks about Islam, will visit the larger-than-life bronze statue during his delicate trip to Turkey in late November.
Is this a gesture of reconciliation from a government with Islamist roots that has just called the German-born pontiff?s words ?ugly and unfortunate?? Or a serious mistake in timing? The answer is neither. The statue was erected in 1921 to Pope Benedict XV, the last head of the Roman Catholic Church to use that name until German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope in April 2005 and became Benedict XVI. Ratzinger said that the last Benedict?s repeated efforts to end the First World War were one reason he took the name.
Turkey honored the Italian-born Benedict for opening up Catholic health facilities to all victims of the war, regardless of which side they fought on. When Church officials began collecting for the statue, Sultan Mehmet VI joined Muslims, Jews, Armenians and other groups contributing to the fund.
The Italian-made memorial shows a worried looking Benedict in his papal robes and triple tiara, with his right hand raised as if to say ?stop!? to the trench fighting he abhorred. It would be hard to imagine any such gesture of gratitude to today?s Benedict, who spoke out against Turkish membership in the European Union before he was elected Pope.
The city of Istanbul has paid for cleaning and renovating the statue in preparation for the Pope?s visit. ?We?re the City Hall for all the people, not just for one group,? said Nadya Tasel, the city official in charge of relations with minority communities. Asked how much the renovation cost, she smiled and said: ?This is a gift from the city. It?s not right to reveal the price of a gift.?
Tom HENEGHAN
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