Really weak arguments, having to use history again is a bad move since Islamists are consistant right up to modern days [like today] in their violence, torture, rape and murder...
The Pope might actually help Turkey get it's act together, since it is pretty difficult to pretend that they haven't been unfair and unceasingly cruel to Christians...[l would wrap quotes around it but it isn't cooperating]
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Pope Hardens Tone on Third Day of Turkey Trip
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Will a brotherly kiss help reunite the two churches?
Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday put the brakes on his charm offensive in EU-hopeful, Muslim majority Turkey, stressing Europe's "Christian roots" and taking a strong stand on religious freedoms and minority rights.
Flanked by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I after mass at the patriarchal Church of St. George, the pontiff complained in a speech that "the process of secularization has weakened the hold of ... (Christian) tradition" in Europe.
"In the face of this reality, we are called, together with all other Christian communities, to renew Europe's awareness of its Christian roots, traditions and values, giving them new vitality," he said.
His statement came just two days after he reportedly told Turkey's Islamist-turned-conservative Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in what was widely seen as a spectacular U-turn, that he supported Turkey's membership in the European Union.
Turkey in the EU, he had said while still Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, would be "a grave error... against the tide of history."
Religious freedom
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The pope attended the Divine Liturgy at Istanbul's St. George's church
In a later joint declaration with Bartholomew I, at the risk of once again rubbing up his hosts the wrong way, the pontiff said respect for religious freedom must be a criterion for membership in the EU, which must ensure that its members respect the rights of their religious minorities.
It was near-overt backing for the patriarchate's complaints of restrictions imposed on it by Turkey, including the closure of a theological seminary and the confiscation of a number of properties from Christian foundations.
Another bone of contention is Turkey's refusal to recognize Bartholomew I as the ecumenical, or universal, leader of about 150 million Orthodox faithful around the world.
Turkey repeated on Thursday it has no intention of budging on this issue.
"We see the patriarchate as a Turkish institution and this is how our laws, too, see it," said foreign ministry spokesman Namik Tan. "Other definitions are in no way binding for us. We have proclaimed to the world that we do not recognize the title 'ecumenical.'"
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Unfortunately, despite reason and diplomacy Turkey is still being ruled by Medievil Fantaical Islamists, who don't want to give back the stolen property....