THE NEW YORK TIMES: PAPHOS, Cyprus — In the presence of Pope Benedict XVI, Cypriot religious and political leaders unleashed a furious broadside on Friday against Turkey, whose troops have occupied northern Cyprus since 1974.
Archbishop Chrysostomos II, the leader of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, accused Turkey of an “obscure plan” to take over the entire island and called for the pope’s “active cooperation” in resolving the longstanding dispute.
The two sides have resumed peace talks after a lull, and President Demetris Christofias seized on Benedict’s visit — the first by a pope — to say, “Cyprus is in need of your words of peace, given the difficult situation it faces in its occupied territory.”
He and the pope spoke shortly after Benedict arrived on Friday on a challenging three-day visit. Aimed at promoting interfaith dialogue and closer ties between the Catholic and Orthodox churches, the trip was overshadowed by the killing on Thursday of a leading Roman Catholic bishop in Turkey who was to have participated in the Cyprus visit.
On his plane from Rome, the pope said his trip was religious in nature, not political, and insisted that Turkey or Turks in general should not be blamed for the murder of the bishop, Luigi Padovese. “The certain thing is that it was not a political or religious assassination,” the pope said. “It was a personal thing.”
Bishop Padovese’s death followed other attacks on Christians in Turkey in recent years, raising concerns among Catholic officials about the country’s commitment to protecting the rights of religious minorities.
The fate of Christians in the Middle East is a central reason for Benedict’s visit to Cyprus, where on Sunday he is expected to present the working paper for a meeting of Catholic bishops from across the Middle East in October at the Vatican. >>> Rachel Donadio reported from Paphos, and Alan Cowell from Paris | Friday, June 04, 2010
