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Pope set to meet Orthodox leader Pope holds Mass at Turkish shrine
(about 1 hour later)
Pope Benedict XVI is due to focus on Christian issues on the second day of his landmark visit to Turkey. The Pope has been celebrating Mass in the ancient city of Ephesus in western Turkey, on the second day of his landmark visit to the country.
The Pope is visiting the ancient city of Ephesus in western Turkey, where a shrine marks what is said to be the final resting place of the Virgin Mary. A shrine marks what is said to be the final resting place of the Virgin Mary.
He is then due to meet the Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Istanbul, aiming to heal an old rift between Churches. Pope Benedict XVI is then due to meet the Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Istanbul, aiming to heal an old rift between Churches.
The Pope's four-day visit to Turkey has been overshadowed by comments made in September about Islam.The Pope's four-day visit to Turkey has been overshadowed by comments made in September about Islam.
But Wednesday's agenda will centre on the meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew I, which was the original reason for Benedict's decision to travel to the country. Wednesday's agenda will centre on the meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew I, which was the original reason for Benedict's decision to travel to the country.
Click here to see a map of where Orthodox and Catholic Europe meets Click here to see a map of where Orthodox and Catholic Europe meets
PilgrimagePilgrimage
The Pope is expected to begin his second day in Turkey by visiting the small stone house known as Mary's House in Ephesus. The Pope has visited the small stone house set in the lush green hillside where the Virgin Mary is thought to have spent her last days.
It is visited every year by tens of thousands of pilgrims.
PAPAL TRIP 28 Nov:
  • Meets PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara
  • Visits mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern republic
  • Meets President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
    • 29 Nov:
  • Goes to Ephesus to celebrate mass at site where Virgin Mary believed to have died
  • Goes to Istanbul to meet Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of the Orthodox Church, for first of series of encounters
    • 1 Dec: Visits Haghia Sophia (6th Century Byzantine church converted into mosque in 1453, then transformed into museum in 1935) and Blue Mosque Divisions cloud Pope talks Preaching to the unconverted    		PAPAL TRIP 28 Nov:
  • Meets PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara
  • Visits mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern republic
  • Meets President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
    • 29 Nov:
  • Goes to Ephesus to celebrate mass at site where Virgin Mary believed to have died
  • Goes to Istanbul to meet Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of the Orthodox Church, for first of series of encounters
    • 1 Dec: Visits Haghia Sophia (6th Century Byzantine church converted into mosque in 1453, then transformed into museum in 1935) and Blue Mosque Divisions cloud Pope talks Preaching to the unconverted
    He will say mass at the small sanctuary, visited every year by tens of thousands of pilgrims. He also honoured the memory of a Roman Catholic priest who was killed amid Muslim anger over the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.
    From Ephesus the Pope will travel to Istanbul, once - as Constantinople - the centre of the Byzantine empire, but now the largest city in a secular but largely Muslim Turkish republic. "Let us sing joyfully, even when we're tested by difficulties and dangers, as we have learned from the fine witness given by the Roman priest John Andrea Santoro, whom I am pleased to recall in this celebration," he is quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
    In Istanbul he will be the guest of the Orthodox patriarch, who heads a community of 250 million Christians around the world. There is only a tiny Catholic community left in Turkey and many in the congregation were foreigners who live in the country and some had travelled from the Mediterranean coast for the occasion, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Ephesus.
    From there, the Pope will travel to Istanbul, once - as Constantinople - the centre of the Byzantine empire, but now the largest city in a secular but largely Muslim Turkish republic.
    In Istanbul he will be the guest of the Orthodox Patriarch, who heads a community of 250 million Christians around the world.
    While in Istanbul the Pope will meet faith leaders and visit the city's famous Blue Mosque.While in Istanbul the Pope will meet faith leaders and visit the city's famous Blue Mosque.
    Benedict is scheduled to lead mass in an Istanbul cathedral before he departs.
    Call for dialogueCall for dialogue
    On his first day in Turkey - and his first in a mainly Muslim country as Pope - Benedict called for an "authentic dialogue" between Christians and Muslims in a speech at Turkey's directorate of religious affairs.On his first day in Turkey - and his first in a mainly Muslim country as Pope - Benedict called for an "authentic dialogue" between Christians and Muslims in a speech at Turkey's directorate of religious affairs.
    He said the exchange must be "based on truth and inspired by a sincere wish to know one another better".He said the exchange must be "based on truth and inspired by a sincere wish to know one another better".
    I want to reiterate the solidarity between the cultures - this is our duty Pope Benedict XVI Trip impact: Have your say The visit has been overshadowed by angry protests by Turkish Muslims. I want to reiterate the solidarity between the cultures - this is our duty Pope Benedict XVI Trip impact: Have your say href="/1/hi/puffbox/pic/6184848.inc" class="">Press doubts Pope's motives
    The visit has been overshadowed by angry protests by Turkish Muslims.
    Tens of thousands of people protested on the streets of Istanbul at the weekend, calling on the Pope to stay away or apologise for comments he made about Islam in a speech in September.Tens of thousands of people protested on the streets of Istanbul at the weekend, calling on the Pope to stay away or apologise for comments he made about Islam in a speech in September.
    Speaking to an academic audience in Germany, the Pope quoted a Byzantine emperor who characterised Islam as a violent religion.Speaking to an academic audience in Germany, the Pope quoted a Byzantine emperor who characterised Islam as a violent religion.
    While the Pope insisted the remarks did not reflect his own views, the speech was widely reported and caused anger across the Islamic world.While the Pope insisted the remarks did not reflect his own views, the speech was widely reported and caused anger across the Islamic world.
    In Ankara, the Pope began his trip with a visit to the hilltop mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.In Ankara, the Pope began his trip with a visit to the hilltop mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
    Flanked by an escort of ceremonial guards, he laid a wreath of red and white flowers.
    In 1981 a Turkish gunman, Ali Agca, wounded Benedict's predecessor, Pope John Paul II, in a Rome shooting.
    Popes Paul VI and John Paul II visited Turkey in 1967 and 1979, respectively.
    WHERE EAST MEETS WEST Kosovo is an overwhelmingly Muslim province of Serbia, pushing for independenceIn Lviv and other western parts of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church predominates - a church that follows Eastern rites but vows allegiance to RomeRepublika Srpska is the Serb part of BosniaCyprus is divided between the Greek, Orthodox south and the breakaway Turkish, Muslim northWHERE EAST MEETS WEST Kosovo is an overwhelmingly Muslim province of Serbia, pushing for independenceIn Lviv and other western parts of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church predominates - a church that follows Eastern rites but vows allegiance to RomeRepublika Srpska is the Serb part of BosniaCyprus is divided between the Greek, Orthodox south and the breakaway Turkish, Muslim north
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