Pope and Patriarch ponder an EU-member Turkey
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Pope Benedict and the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians said on Thursday minority rights must be protected as the EU expands and appeared to jointly support Turkish membership if it protected religious liberties.
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VATICANO - Papa Benedetto XVI in Turchia - ÂI cristiani e i musulmani, seguendo le loro rispettive religioni, richiamano lÂattenzione sulla veritÃ  del carattere sacro e della dignitÃ  della persona. Ã questa la base del nostro reciproco rispetto e stima, questa Ã¨ la base per la collaborazione al servizio della pace fra nazioni e popoliÂ Ankara (Agenzia Fides) - Il Santo Padre Benedetto XVI ha iniziato il suo 5Â° Viaggio internazionale in Turchia martedÃ¬ 28 novembre. AllÂarrivo allÂaeroporto Esembo&#287;a di Ankara, il Santo Padre Ã¨ stato accolto dal Primo Ministro Recep Tayyip Erdo&#...
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Pope Benedict XVI focused on healing the rift between the once-united Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches.
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Pope Benedict told Turkey on Tuesday he  backed its bid to join the European Union and believed Islam  was a religion of peace, hoping to soothe rows overshadowing a  delicate visit to the mainly Muslim country.
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ANKARA, Turkey -- Pope Benedict XVI, who sparked Muslim anger in September when he quoted a 14th-century ruler's characterization of Islam as a religion spread by violence, reached further back for more conciliatory words yesterday as he began a four-day visit to Turkey, his first papal trip to a Muslim country.
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EFES, Turkey  - Turks praised Pope Benedict on Wednesday for moves to bridge the divide between Christians and Muslims as he began the part of his Turkey trip that is devoted to Christian issues.
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For many in Turkey, the visiting pontiff personifies the mounting hostility they feel from Europe
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Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused of snubbing Pope Benedict on his first official trip to a Muslim country, says he has agreed to meet the pontiff when he arrives in Ankara on Tuesday.
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VATICAN CITY, Nov. 27 -- Pope John Paul II on Saturday handed over the bones of two saints to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, in hopes that the gesture will revive talks over unifying Roman Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity, two major forces in Christendom.
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Turkey greets Pope Benedict on Tuesday for a four-day official visit, but the welcome will be distinctly cool due to simmering Muslim anger over his comments on Islam and his past opposition to Ankara's EU ambitions.
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Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan  urged the European Union on Thursday to open its doors to  non-Christians after French President Jacques Chirac made a  vibrant appeal to bring Turkey into the EU.
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Turkey's top Muslim official said on  Thursday Pope Benedict should state clearly during a planned  visit to Turkey next week he believes Islam, like Christianity,  to be a religion of peace.
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Snipers and police security teams took up positions around Ankara airport as Pope Benedict XVI arrived for his first visit to a Muslim country. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan shook hands with the pope at the foot of the plane. But dozens of Turks demonstrated against the pope, denouncing his visit to Turkey and saying he was not welcome.
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European leaders are set to decide whether to open European Union membership talks with Turkey Friday, 41 years after the largely Muslim state first applied to join the Brussels-based bloc.
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Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday that his visit to Turkey is aimed at promoting dialogue and bridging differences, speaking minutes before departing for his first trip as pontiff to a predominantly Muslim country.
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Pope Benedict XVI met on Thursday with Archbishop Christodoulos, head of the Orthodox Church of Greece, for talks on relations between the two churches.
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THE European Union has offered to start membership negotiations with Turkey, opening the way for the EUâs borders to reach Iraq and Iran, and for a poor Muslim nation in Asia to become the largest member of the Union.