ENI – Turkey's small Roman Catholic community hopes to mark the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Paul of Tarsus by reopening a church at his birthplace. They also hope to improve the status of the country's Christian minorities.
“This anniversary is certain to attract large numbers of pilgrims, who will obviously need a church where they can feel at home and pray,” Bishop Luigi Padovese said. “The local authorities are aware of their town's significance for Christians and proud that one of its citizens was once a key figure. On the other hand, they aren't prepared for an increase of religious tourism with its special requirements,” said the 60-year-old Franciscan bishop who belongs to a seven-member bishops' conference that includes leaders of Turkey's Armenian, Syriac and Chaldean Catholic communities.
Pope Benedict XVI has declared 2008 the Year of St. Paul.
Most of Turkey's 71 million inhabitants are Sunni Muslims.
