Pope Francis tries to build bridges in sceptical Turkey
Pope Francis battled against indifference on his
Turkey trip
"Long live the Pope, long live the
Pope!"
The crowd was small, but passionate. The Catholic faithful here are few.
A mix of young and old, though, were waiting for the Pope to arrive at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul.
It is tucked behind a discreet doorway on a main road, and the pavement was sealed off behind a temporary security barrier.
Attendance at the special mass with Pope Francis was by invitation only.
When the Pope arrived at last, they gave him a rock star's welcome; youngsters desperately holding up their mobile phones to take selfies with the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
The 77-year old Pontiff did not disappoint; he seemed energized by the cheers, smiling broadly as he was mobbed by his small Turkish flock.
This trip proved that building bridges with Islam, even in a secular state such as Turkey, is not easy. ”
Elsewhere in Turkey, though, there was little interest
in his visit: no surprise in a nation of 77 million people that is now some 99%
Muslim.
Its Christian minority was around 20% a century ago, but is down to well under 1%, or 80,000 people in total, while Turkey's Jews number just 17,000.
Read it all: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30273812
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