Light in the darkness
What was the highlight of the Pope's apostolic journey to Turkey? A no-brainer, that. Had to be his visit to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and the nearby Hagia Sophia Museum. Right? Wrong. Despite what the mass media would have you believe, the real highlight yesterday wasn't what the TV cameras focused on.
FACTOID: 
Yesterday was the feast day of St Andrew the Apostle, who was the brother of Rome's St Peter. He is also the patron saint of Scotland and he's known in the Orthodox Church as Protokletos, or "first called". When Christ's Apostles drew lots as to where they should go to spread the word, he got Asia Minor, which would have included Constantinople.
Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI joined the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew at Divine Liturgy to mark the festival. Developing relations with the Orthodox is one of the main goals of his papacy, in line with his pursuit of full Christian unity, mentioned as one of his priorities in his homily delivered address in the Sistine Chapel the day after his election last April.
And now, we hand over to our current affairs correspondent standing outside the Blue Mosque. Take it away Secu Larist. "So, Can Islam and Catholicism remain true to their traditional aspiration of generosity towards each other in the 21st century? The question took on extra urgency after the seismic shift that took place on 9/11, and the extent of the divide really became clear in Regensburg, when Benedict quoted Byzantine Emperor Manuel II who alleged in 1391 that the prophet Muhammad promoted "things only bad and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith his preached." Many Muslims fear that Washington and Rome have launched a modern crusade against their faith, and this fear has been added to the toxic mix of the secular and religious that mark modern Turkey. And with that, it's back to the studio."
Thank you for that, Sec. All these issues don't make it any easier for Benedict to give solace and support to Turkey's tiny Catholic community, which numbers about 32,000 among the country's 72 million inhabitants. Complicating the matter is the fact that the Catholic Church is not officially recognised in Turkey. But, there is hope and despite a fever of media alarmism only outdone by the predictions of hurricanes that would return to New Orleans this year and finish off the place, Benedict has survived the trip, his flock has not been purged and — major surprise — he added the Vatican weight to Turkey's bid to enter the EU.
By the way, Spero News has done an amazing job of covering Benedict's Apostolic journey.
