Pope arrives in Turkey giving thanks, preaching peace

ANKARA, Turkey (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV began his first papal trip speaking of dialogue, peace and thanksgiving -- referring to both the holiday and his own gratitude.

On the plane to Turkey Nov. 27, he wished a Happy Thanksgiving to the Americans among the 80 journalists traveling with him and told them, "It's a wonderful day to celebrate."

He also received from reporters two pumpkin pies and a pecan pie; he said he would share "part of it."

Pope Leo also was given a baseball bat that had belonged to 1950s White Sox player Nellie Fox.

After expressing his appreciation, the pope asked, "How did you get that through security?" 

During the flight, speaking to the reporters from the front of the economy section of the ITA Airways plane, Pope Leo said, "I want to begin by saying thank you to each and every one of you for the service that you offer to the Vatican, to the Holy See, to my person, but to the whole world. It's so important today that the message be transmitted in a way that really reveals the truth and the harmony that the world needs."

Landing in Ankara after the flight of almost three hours, Pope Leo fulfilled the dictates of protocol as a visiting head of state, meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Safi Arpagus, the head of the national religious affairs office, known as the Diyanet.

Later, addressing the president, other government officials, members of the diplomatic corps and civic leaders, Pope Leo told them, "Today, more than ever, we need people who will promote dialogue and practice it with firm will and patient resolve." 

After World War II, he said, the world came together and formed the United Nations and other international and regional organizations committed to dialogue, cooperation and conflict resolution.

"We are now experiencing a phase marked by a heightened level of conflict on the global level, fueled by prevailing strategies of economic and military power," Pope Leo said. "This is enabling what Pope Francis called 'a third world war fought piecemeal.'"

"We must in no way give in to this," the pope insisted. "The future of humanity is at stake. The energies and resources absorbed by this destructive dynamic are being diverted from the real challenges that the human family should instead be facing together today, namely peace, the fight against hunger and poverty, health and education, and the protection of creation."

In a land where most people are Muslim, but the constitution officially proclaims the nation secular, Pope Leo praised both the tolerance of religious diversity and the encouragement given to people of all religions to practice their faith.

"In a society like the one here in Turkey, where religion plays a visible role, it is essential to honor the dignity and freedom of all God's children, both men and women, fellow nationals and foreigners, poor and rich," he said.

"We are all children of God, and this has personal, social and political implications," he said, including working for the common good and respecting all people.

Pope Francis, who visited Turkey in 2014, urged all believers in God "to feel the pain of others and to listen to the cry of the poor and of the earth," the pope said. "He thus encouraged us to compassionate action, which is a reflection of the one God who is merciful and compassionate" -- as Muslims frequently repeat -- and "slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love," as the Psalms say.

Pope Leo encouraged all people in Turkey and all people of good will to defend social bonds, beginning with the family. 

"People do not obtain greater opportunities or happiness from an individualistic culture, nor by showing contempt for marriage or shunning openness to life," he said.

"Those who scorn fundamental human ties and fail to learn how to bear even their limitations and fragility," he said, "more easily become intolerant and incapable of interacting with our complex world."

Pope Leo asked the people of Turkey to value their diversity, both cultural and religious. And he assured them that the nation's Catholic community -- about 35,000 people or less than 1% of the population -- wants to contribute.

"Uniformity would be an impoverishment," the pope said. "Indeed, a society is alive if it has a plurality, for what makes it a civil society are the bridges that link its people together."

Unfortunately, he said, today "communities are increasingly polarized and torn apart by extreme positions that fragment them."