..."Despite the difficulties experienced," he added, "we have managed to survive and our coexistence in Turkish society resembles a variegated garden, where flowers are able to live side by side." However, "I wonder and cannot understand," he noted, "how it is that Turkey, which is looking for solutions to the Kurdish question and ways to reform its constitution for a more overt democratisation of society, is not able to re-open the Theological School in Halki, improperly closed for 42 years, despite much-repeated and hopeful promises. " "All this," Bartholomew said, "shows how in this society it is still difficult to reach and take certain important decisions." In his brief but tough speech, Bartholomew mentioned the kidnapping of Paulos and Ioannis, metropolitans in the Patriarchate of Antioch and Syrian Jacobite Church, expressing concern for their fate and inviting all those present at the iftar dinner to pray for them. At the same time, he appealed to the Turkish government to intensify the search for their whereabouts. The two prelates were kidnapped by rebel groups, opponents of the regime in Damascus, supported by Turkey. "Their seizure," said Bartholomew, "has much troubled the Christian world and is raising many concerns about the fate of all Christians in the Middle East, which is becoming increasingly dangerous."
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 20:39:53 +0000
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