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From http://www.crosswalk.com
Turkish Authorities ‘Harass’ Orthodox Patriarchate Staff
According to Compass Direct News, Orthodox Christian volunteer workers say that beneath the surface of last week’s four-day visit by Pope Benedict XVI was a hard struggle with Turkish authorities.
The Turkish Press Ministry, they said, tried to shut down the Holy See Ecumenical Patriarchate press office at least four times, once succeding in temporarily closing it. Church officials were forced to give up their identification papers at security checkpoints, and local Christians were shut out from the historic meeting between Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Benedict.
“My personal outrage from this is because I believe in freedom of religion and the press,†said Father Alex Karloutsos, communications assistant for Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew during Benedict’s trip. An official from the Turkish Press Ministry who declined to give her name denied that the Patriarchate’s press office was ever shut down.
Turkish Authorities ‘Harass’ Orthodox Patriarchate Staff
According to Compass Direct News, Orthodox Christian volunteer workers say that beneath the surface of last week’s four-day visit by Pope Benedict XVI was a hard struggle with Turkish authorities.
The Turkish Press Ministry, they said, tried to shut down the Holy See Ecumenical Patriarchate press office at least four times, once succeding in temporarily closing it. Church officials were forced to give up their identification papers at security checkpoints, and local Christians were shut out from the historic meeting between Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Benedict.
“My personal outrage from this is because I believe in freedom of religion and the press,†said Father Alex Karloutsos, communications assistant for Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew during Benedict’s trip. An official from the Turkish Press Ministry who declined to give her name denied that the Patriarchate’s press office was ever shut down.