Glass House

When the Holy Father travels to Turkey, he will not be received there as a Head of State. There are consequences for protocol.

It was also announced recently that the Pope’€Â™s welcome has been downgraded to a second-class protocol instead of a first-class protocol, reported Turkish agency Hurriyet. The ceremonial differences between the two protocols mean that there will not be 21 cannon shots fired and that fewer soldiers will be present for his arrival.

The Pope will also stay at the Vatican Embassy rather than in the Glass House in the President’€Â™s LJankaya KöşŸk, which is usually set aside for foreign heads of state.

So… the Pope won’t be living in the "Glass House".

Perhaps the Holy Father will feel free to throw a few stones as a result?

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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7 Comments

  1. Louis says:

    May God protect the Pope! St Peter and St Paul, pray for him!

  2. Ditto what Louis said. I’d rather not have the Pope standing near
    21 firing canons in Turkey so I’m pleased about their absence.

  3. Sidney says:

    I agree with Louis and Cathy of Alex…
    Thanks God for their absence!

  4. Demerzel says:

    This brings to mind an an article from Shout In the Piazza that the Pope is a Bishop not a Politician, a Pastor not a Statesman.

  5. Jordan Potter says:

    He’s not a politician, but he is a head of state.

  6. Kenjiro Shoda says:

    May God protect the Holy Father always, but especially in the next coming week.
    I think that the media is dragging the “Islam” issue with Pope on too long. Benedict XVI stated the truth from the beginning in His Regensburg speech. I admire Him that although He explained it later, He never appologized for it. I hope the Pope doesn’t even mention Islam during His trip, but rather concentrates on Catholics in Turkey, and establishing accord with the Orthodox.
    I hpe also that He not only visits as a tourist, but actually prays at Hagia Sophia , which was originally a huge Christian/Orthodox Church built in the 6th century, later (1450’s) turned into a Mosque after the Byzantine Empire fell to the Muslims, and after Kemal Attaturk overthrew the Ottoman Turkish Empire (1920), it became a secular museum.
    There has been furious speculation in Muslim Turkish circles that Benedict XVI would visit Hagia Sophia. But they are in a panic if He actually PRAYS there.

  7. Kenjiro Shoda says:

    To explain my above comment better,… the Muslims are worried the Pope will pray at Hagia Sophia, because it was a Church for almost 1,000 years before the Muslims under Sultan Mehmet II (Mehmet the Conqueror) defeated the Byzantine Empire (1450’s) and turned Hagia Sophia into a Mosque. Millions of Orthodox Greeks fled the former Empire, and those who stayed were treated as 2nd class citizens.
    The Ottoman Empire was overthrown in turn by Mustafa Kemal Attaturk in 1920, in a coup which brought a goverment similar to the Soviet Union to power. Hagia Sophia became a museum
    and Turkey became a secular state.
    Today many in Turkey want it to be an Islamic state…and even an Islamic kingdom again. If the Pope actually prays at Hagia Sophia, it will undoubetly re-awaken the old wounds that the Orthodox suffered under the Turks, and call to mind a time when the great Hagia Sophia was once a magnificent Orthodox Church, and the symbol of Orthodox power.
    This is the last thing a nation with stirrings to become another Islamic state wants.

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