|
ROME, Italy, (Reuters) - A Vatican cardinal
said a knife attack on a Roman Catholic priest in
Turkey showed that the EU candidate country was not
yet ready for integration with Europe.
Turkey was not truly a secular state that guaranteed
full religious freedom, Cardinal Walter Kasper, head
of the Vatican's department for Christian Unity, was
also quoted as saying by Milan's Corriere della Sera
newspaper on Tuesday.
"There is a certain tolerance but not authentic
freedom ... Turkey must change many things and it is
not just a question of laws but of mentality, and
you can't change mentality in one day," Kasper was
quoted as saying.
Kasper was responding to a question about the
stabbing on Sunday of a French priest - an incident
that recalled the fatal shooting of another Catholic
priest five months ago.
Pierre Brunissen was stabbed by a 47-year-old man in
the Black Sea port of Samsun. His attacker,
suspected of being mentally unbalanced, had recently
accused Brunissen of spreading "Christian
propaganda". The attacker was arrested.
Speaking by telephone from Moscow, Kasper said
Turkey was "still lacking is a true lay state that
guarantees religious freedom" and added he doubted
"the integration of Turkey in Europe is possible at
this moment".
Turkey, which Pope Benedict will visit in November,
has a secular political system but is overwhelmingly
Muslim.
In February, a teenage boy shot dead an Italian
priest in his church in the Black Sea city of
Trabzon, drawing condemnation from the prime
minister and other officials.
Before he was elected Pope last year, then Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger gave an interview arguing that
Europe's roots are Christian and that a Muslim
country would not fit in.
Reuters
Top |
® 