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Turkey: Bishop fears more violence after
priest's murder
6.2.2006
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Rome, 6 Feb. (AKI) - As Turkey's Catholic
community is in shock after the murder of father
Andrea Santoro, in the northern Turkish port of
Trabzon, the head of the Catholic bishops there has
warned that the situation may deteriorate.
In an interview with Milan daily Il Giornale, monsignor George Marovich,
warned "the security forces are well organised but
there is the risk that the situation will
deteriorate." A man fired a single shot at Father
Santoro outside his church and police are seeking a
teenage suspect. Police are not ruling out a
connection to the Muslim cartoon row.
"We are speechless...I still can't believe that
someone could do this to him," monsignor Marovich
said.
According to monsignor Marovich, Father Santoro was
"an extraordinary person, it is simply impossible to
list all his qualities". He did great work in
helping women escape from the prostitution racket,
he said, something which has put him in the sights
of the local mafia, "but he refused to be
intimidated".
"Then there were all his initiatives for
inter-religious dialogue, especially with Muslims.
(His killer) may have been a fanatic, but the murder
could also have been ordered by local crime bosses.
The only sure thing is that until now the community
of Trabzon lived in peace," he said.
News reports say the priest's killer called "Allahu
Akbar" (Allah is Great) before firing.
Asked whether the raging row over the Danish
cartoons offensive to Islam could have played a
role, Marovich said "certainly this episode risks
causing a very deep rift between Islam and the other
religions.
For this reason several days ago the Catholic
church, in the form of the patriarch of
Constantinople, the Jewish community and the
Armenian church, wrote a joint document firmly
condemning the cartoons published in Denmark.
Everyone needs to learn respect," he said.
"Turkey is changing but it still has a long way to
go before entering Europe," Marovich noted. "The
government is making efforts but it can't do
miracles. The spiral of extremism is always around
the corner. And episodes like that of the cartoons
depicting the Prophet Mohammed can only foment
hate," he concluded.
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