Pope Benedict, master of words, shows mastery of gestures in Turkey

Published: 2006-12-01

ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNS) -- During his four-day trip to Turkey, Pope Benedict XVI, known for his precise and incisive words, showed he was also a master of the spontaneous gesture. While his scholarly words in a September lecture in Germany offended millions of Muslims, his prayer in an Istanbul mosque surprised and delighted many of them. For papal watchers the contrast between the tones of his reference to Muslims and violence in Germany and his silent prayer in the Blue Mosque was not the only surprise. Pope Benedict was supposed to be the pope of strong words in contrast to Pope John Paul II, the pope of strong gestures. The silent prayer facing Mecca, the site of Islam's holiest shrine, also seemed to be in contrast to the predictions of pundits who assured the world that Pope Benedict would be more challenging than conciliatory with the world's Muslim believers. Retired French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, a close aide to Pope John Paul and a member of Pope Benedict's entourage in Turkey, told reporters Dec. 1: "I would compare the visit of the pope to the mosque to the gesture of John Paul II at the Western Wall," the Jewish holy site in Jerusalem where Pope John Paul in 2000 deposited a prayer asking God's forgiveness for the ways Christians had mistreated the Jews.

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