“I think about Istanbul, about the Hagia Sophia, and I am very upset by what happened,” the Pope said during the traditional Sunday sermon at St. Peter’s square at the Vatican.
the Long silence of the Pope about the most high-profile recent events in the religious world has already begun to cause concern among opponents of changing the status of a Cathedral. In particular, in the Greek press, for obvious reasons, actively condemning all change the status of Hagia Sophia, wrote that if the Pope will not condemn this step of the Turkish authorities, it will not be created “United Christian front” against changing the status of a Cathedral. In addition, the Greek side noted that the opinion of the Pope affects the position of the leaders of many Christian countries.
Previously, the Roman Catholic bishops of Turkey refused to condemn the change of status of a Cathedral. “We can’t give advice concerning the internal Affairs of Turkey, said in a statement, the bishops published a Catholic news Agency. We’d like to see the Cathedral retained its status of a Museum, but the decision is the exclusive jurisdiction of the Turkish Republic.”
it Should be noted that the Vatican played a rather negative role in the fate of Byzantium and Eastern Orthodoxy to the fall of Constantinople, indirectly facilitated the Ottoman Empire this task, so any statement of the Holy see in relation to Hagia Sophia leaves a dual impression. On the one hand, the Pope, who calls himself the head of all Christians, must speak out on such issues, on the other – it was in Italy that holds a considerable part of the treasures looted by the crusaders in 1204 of Constantinople. And let the capture of the city was initiated by the Venetian Doge Enrique Dandolo, but the Vatican did not object to the actions of the crusaders.
