St. Sophia becomes mosque, Pope Francis: I am very saddened

Pope Francis has decided to break his silence on the affair of the St. Sophia basilica in Istanbul, which was converted back into a mosque after it had been a museum for 85 years, a symbol of secular and modern Turkey (the affair was also stigmatized by UNESCO, which accused Turkish authorities of making the decision without informing the organization, since St. Sophia is on the World Heritage list).

The pontiff spoke on the case today after the customary Sunday angelus, recalling that today marks the International Day of the Sea. “The sea,” Pope Francis said, “takes me a little far away in thought: to Istanbul. I think of Saint Sophia, and I am very saddened.” An extremely succinct thought, but equally extremely meaningful.

The words thus express condemnation, and come after the Christian world (starting with the Orthodox world) had strongly criticized him for his silence around the case. The Orthodox Times website had spoken of a “sad silence” regarding Pope Bergoglio’s failure to take a stand, who has therefore decided to make his voice heard on a subject that, within the world community of Christians, is very much felt, so much so that the World Council of Churches had sent a harsh letter to Turkish President Erdogan asking that the basilica remain a museum, “in the interest of promoting mutual understanding, respect, dialogue and cooperation” (so in the missive). And now, therefore, a similarly close discussion is expected around what the pope said today.

St. Sophia becomes mosque, Pope Francis: I am very saddened

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