TURKEY: POPE WINS HEARTS AND MINDS BUT DOES NOT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 006616

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: POPE WINS HEARTS AND MINDS BUT DOES NOT
PERFORM A MIRACLE

REF: A. ANKARA 6447

B. ISTANBUL 2084

Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner for reasons 1.4(b),
(d)

1.(U) This cable has been coordinated with Consulate General
Istanbul.

2.(C) Summary: Turks widely perceived Pope Benedict XVI's
November 29-December 1 visit to Ankara and Istanbul as a
success in diminishing animosity between religions and
increasing dialogue between civilizations. Contacts from
different sectors of Turkish society, however, do not agree
on the lasting impact the visit will have. The GOT saw the
visit as effective in relieving tensions and helping Turkey's
beleaguered reputation in Europe, but realizes that it must
follow up with concrete measures to truly capitalize on the
event. The Vatican Embassy and Ecumenical Patriarchate were
skeptical that the positive events will translate into bona
fide reform from the Turks, who they view as consumed with a
paranoia rooted in historical events. Several academics
similarly questioned the lasting power of the visit to
improve cross-cultural dialogue and diminish Turks'
deep-seated suspicion of Christianity. The EU, however, told
us that the visit not only eliminated Turks' antipathy toward
the Pope, but also enhanced Turkey's position as a builder of
bridges between civilizations. End summary.

-------------- --
Pope's Diplomacy Heals Wounds In Historic Visit
-------------- --

3.(U) The long anticipated visit of Pope Benedict XVI to
Turkey included several significant surprises that
contributed to the widely-held positive perception of his
trip. The first occurred when Prime Minister Erdogan
unexpectedly greeted the Pope as he disembarked from the
plane. (Whether or not PM Erdogan, who was on his way to a
NATO summit in Riga, would meet the Pope at all was the
subject of much press speculation prior to the visit.) The
second occurred when the Pope reportedly told the Prime
Minister during their meeting that he supported Turkey's EU
membership -- a significant shift from the less enthusiastic
opinion he gave as Cardinal Ratsinger in 2004.

4.(U) In Ankara, after a prayer at Ataturk's mausoleum, the
Pope briefly met with President Sezer and later with
Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) President (and
highest Muslim authority in Turkey) Ali Bardakoglu, where the
two stressed the importance of "authentic dialogue" between
faiths. The next morning, the Pope visited Izmir and
Ephesus, reputed to have been home to the Virgin Mary and
John the Apostle. He began the mass at Ephesus in Turkish,
and ended by waving a Turkish flag.

5.(U) In Istanbul, he Pope participated in a short religious
service with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the "first
among equals" of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians.
The two religious leaders issued a common declaration on
November 30 shortly after participating in a service
celebrating the annual Feast of St. Andrew in honor of the
founder of the Orthodox Church in Constantinople.

6.(U) Pope Benedict also met with the heads of other
religious minority communities including Armenian Orthodox,
Syrian Orthodox, Jewish and Catholic leaders in Turkey. In
what was originally perceived as the (diplomatically)
riskiest part of his itinerary, Benedict quietly visited the
Hagia Sophia museum, formerly a Byzantine Orthodox Cathedral,
and surprised everyone by praying at Istanbul's famous
Sultanahmet Mosque alongside Istanbul's Grand Mufti while
facing Mecca. He ended his trip on December 1 by delivering
the homily at the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.

-------------- --------------
GOT: Visit Improved Pope's Image But Failed To Boost
Turkey's EU Bid
-------------- --------------

7.(SBU) MFA Head of Western Europe Department Hasan Asan told

ANKARA 00006616 002 OF 003


us December 6 that the Pope's positive gestures helped soothe
the animosity generated by the Pope's controversial
Regensburg remarks. Asan said that the GOT had hoped that
its own gestures would have generated more positive payback
from EU leaders, who are seen as unfairly punishing Turkey
for refusing to open its ports to Greek Cypriot traffic.
Although the Pope's visit sent a positive signal to Muslims,
Asan told us, the onus remains on Europe to demonstrate the
sincerity of its claims of tolerance and respect for all
cultures and religions.

--------------
Diyanet: Follow Up Critical To Capitalize
On Positive Dialogue
--------------

8.(SBU) Deputy Diyanet President Mehmet Gormez told us that
the Pope's "positive, healing message" throughout his visit
enormously changed the conviction of the Turkish public. The
warm but frank discussion between the Pope and Bardakoglu,
according to Gormez, began a constructive dialogue that the
Diyanet plans to build on in the coming months and years.
Bardakoglu, an outspoken critic of the Pope's Regensburg
remarks (see ref A),said steps must be taken to counter
rising Islamophobia in the West. The Pope told Bardakoglu
that religious clergy should have autonomy from political
institutions. Both expressed plans to continue the positive
dialogue, according to Gormez.

9.(SBU) Although Gormez characterized the visit as
"magnificent", he emphasized that the positive atmosphere
created by the Pope's "symbolic gestures" would be lost
unless both sides take concrete steps to build on the new
momentum. Gormez, who will lead the Diyanet's efforts, is
optimistic. He plans to work with the Vatican to arrange a
series of exchanges between clergy, academics, and
senior-level officials. For the Diyanet, although the visit
did not resolve long-standing historical problems, it created
a new atmosphere of calm and hope in which parties have the
opportunity to build positive interfaith dialogue.

--------------
Vatican Embassy: Pope Steals The Show
--------------

10.(C) Vatican Embassy First Secretary Monsignor Christophe
El-Kassis told us that the visit improved the Pope's image
but would have little effect in altering the fundamental
problems between Christianity and Islam. The Pope's words,
and symbolic gestures, such as praying in the Blue Mosque and
meeting with Bardakoglu after he had "vilified the Pope",
surprised and impressed a skeptical Turkish public, according
to El-Kassis. He told us the Vatican was pleased that the
Pope helped raise awareness of the Patriarchate's problems,
improved his image among Turks, and started a productive
dialogue between religions. El-Kassis was not sure, however,
that the visit would have a greater long-term impact. The
GOT's genuine interest was not to usher in a new era of
inter-faith dialogue, he told us, but rather to resuscitate
Turkey's image in the West, in order to revive languishing EU
negotiations and increase tourism. El-Kassis noted that
following the visit the GOT requested (and received) the
Vatican's permission to use the image of the Pope waving a
Turkish flag in a new tourism campaign in Europe.

-------------- --------------
Ecumenical Patriarchate Skeptical About Visit's Benefits
-------------- --------------

11.(C) Contacts from the Patriarchate told us the visit was
positive for intra-Christian and Christian-Muslim relations,
but they thought it would do little to rectify the problems
the Greek Orthodox Church faces in Turkey. Metropolitan
Meliton, a Senior Advisor to the Patriarch, said the Pope's
offer to intercede with the GOT is unlikely to help, due to
the Turkish "deep state's" aversion to granting rights to
Turkey's Greek minority. In particular, Meliton said he
believes that GOT will continue to refuse to recognize the
Patriarch's title of "Ecumenical", or first among equals,
among his fellow Patriarches. Meliton said the GOT has an
unfounded fear that its recognition of the term would violate

ANKARA 00006616 003 OF 003


Turkey's secular tradition by granting a religious
institution legal status, which could ultimately lead to a
Vatican-like establishment in Turkey. The Patriarchate has
consistently denied such an intention. While the Pope's
visit was an extremely significant event in the life of the
Patriarchate, Meliton concluded, it would not be enough to
change Turkey's deep-seated fears of Greek aspirations.

-------------- --------------
Academics: Visit As A Short-Term Fix, Not Long Term Solution
-------------- --------------

12.(SBU) Several academics expressed the view that the Pope's
visit did little to change the fundamental Turkish view that
Christianity is synonymous with the West, and that both are a
threat to Turkish sovereignty. Dr. Ahmet Kizikaya, an EU
scholar and human rights expert, told us that the Pope's
conciliatory gestures prevented large-scale demonstrations
but could not undo hundreds of years of history, which have
caused Turks to perceive Europe as a "Christian alliance"
encroaching on Turkish sovereignty. He predicted the
opposition parties will tap into this perception during next
year's elections by criticizing the ruling party, AKP, for
its cooperation with Western institutions, such as the EU and
the Vatican. Ankara University Professor Tayfun Atay told us
that although the Pope "did all the right things" to improve
interfaith dialogue and decrease tension, underlying tension
would resurface prior to the 2007 elections.

--------------
EU: For Turks, He Came as Cardinal Ratsinger
And Left As The Pope
--------------

13.(SBU) EU Commission Turkey's Deputy Political Counselor
Serap Ocak told us December 5 that Turkey nearly lost an
historic opportunity due to early missteps such as the PM's
decision to leave Turkey during the visit. Fortunately, the
GOT ultimately embraced the visit as a chance to enhance
Turkey's position as a builder of bridges between
civilizations, said Ocak. She told us that even though Turks
by nature will always be suspicious of Western symbols such
as the Papacy, they no longer feel antipathy toward the Pope.
"In Turks' eyes," said Ocak, "he came as Cardinal Ratsinger
but left as a global Pope." Although opposition political
parties may try to portray negatively the AKP's involvement
with the Pope in upcoming elections, Ocak believes the AKP
will ultimately reap the benefits from an event which
softened European views of Muslims.

14.(C) Comment: The Pope's visit succeeded in turning around
negative Turkish public opinion. Although many of our
contacts were skeptical regarding visit's lasting impact, the
Pope's ability to change Turkey's perception of him
demonstrates a willingness to heal wounds and help bridge
divides. After his remarks in Regensburg, Turkish leaders,
media outlets, and the public had called for the visit to be
canceled. During the visit, his actions won widespread media
praise, which overshadowed small protests by fringe groups.
The Pope's symbolic power is likely to serve as a catalyst
for further rapprochement between Turkey and Europe, East and
West, Islam and Christianity and, perhaps, within the
Christian world too. End comment.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/

WILSON