AmericanPapist Comments
As usual, the media is making things worse. Will he do this? Maybe he'll do that?
The risk is that Benedict will send Turkey's Muslims and much of the Islamic world into paroxysms of fury if there is any perception that he is trying to re-appropriate a Christian centre.
But it's a museum now, so why should they care? Besides, if some imam walked into St. Peter's and said "Praise Allah"; I don't think it would affect the consecration of the building. But if Benedict did indeed attempt to reconsecrate Hagia Sophia, then it would indeed be valid consecration.
Via the Turkish newspaper Zaman:
The Italian daily La Republica has reported that Mossad agents and Italian and Vatican security and intelligence officers have arrived in Turkey to help Turkish security units.
La Republica also reported that security units in Istanbul arrested a group in preparation for an attack on the pope a few weeks ago in Istanbul.
Q: What exactly would it take to "reconsecrate" a former church?
Only 25,000? Sounds like for some Muslims in Turkey, this could actually be a non-event.
Writing for the Turkish Daily News, Muslim columnist Mustafa Aykol has an interesting two-parter on "The Turkish Side of Things": How Turks see the Pope (Nov. 25 / 26, 2006) -- a two-part series covering Turkish opposition to the papal visit:
Thanks to the reports of the international fine print, many must have been informed that the fiercest opponents of the pope's visit are Turkish nationalists. But these folks do not form a homogenous crowd. They may fit into one of three broad categories: the pure nationalists, the Islamic nationalists and the secular nationalists (aka Kemalists) . . .Part II of Aykol's series on How Turks see the Pope (Part II) covers the historical motivation of the purely secular nationalists:
Among those Turkish nationalists who do not welcome Pope Benedict XVI, the third category would be secular nationalists, who are in line with the anti-EU forces in Turkey's civil and military bureaucracy. They see the whole West as an imperialist enemy dying to carve Turkey into pieces by re-implementing the infamous Treaty of Sèvres -- a 1920 document that only a handful of non-Turkish historians but the whole Turkish nation remembers. For them Pope Benedict XVI is simply the religious face of "Western imperialism." His effort to consolidate Christianity is interpreted as the preparation for a new Crusade. . . .
Reconsecration would require the Pope to perform an entire Mass. Also, lots of symbolic splashing of holy water and oil and such is involved. (I know this because my parish church was desecrated by vandals and had to be reconsecrated.)
Also, you'd have to remove all the Muslim religious slogans, etc., or the church would be instantly desecrated again. Which would sorta take away the point.
And if the Pope or anyone from the entourage got murdered inside the church as a result of such actions, the church would also be instantly desecrated. Which would _really_ make it pointless.
In short, unless B16 is prepared to barricade himself into Hagia Sophia, perform a Fast Freddy Flanagan fifteen minute special reconsecration Mass, and then airlift himself and his whole party out of there, I'm thinking this ain't happening.
In short, unless B16 is prepared to barricade himself into Hagia Sophia, perform a Fast Freddy Flanagan fifteen minute special reconsecration Mass, and then airlift himself and his whole party out of there, I'm thinking this ain't happening.
LOL. -- No, I don't see that happening. =)
... but it would be awesome. :)
No, but I find it unsettling that all he'd have to do is cross himself inside the Hagia Sophia for there to be a hue and cry. Kind of makes you wonder what his saying a Rosary there would do...
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