NC Register Edward Pentin December 24, 2006

Pope Benedict XVI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople are considering a proposal to attend the next round of joint Catholic-Orthodox theological discussions in 2007.

VATICAN CITY — In what theologians are describing as a highly significant gesture, Pope Benedict XVI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople are considering a proposal to attend the next round of joint Catholic-Orthodox theological discussions in 2007.

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Kathimerini Danilo Schiavella December 15, 2006

Pact to mend ties signed at Vatican

Pope Benedict XVI (right) and Archbishop Christodoulos sign an agreement following historic talks at the Vatican yesterday. The two religious leaders issued a joint appeal against religious fanaticism and violence.

Archbishop Christodoulos and Pope Benedict XVI, after a landmark meeting at the Vatican yesterday, issued a joint appeal against religious fanaticism and violence, and pledged to pursue “the difficult path of dialogue” in order to heal a centuries-old rift between their two churches.

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Rome (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI and Patriarch Alexei II of the Russian Orthodox Church may meet in early 2007, according to unconfirmed reports circulating in Rome and Moscow. There has been no official church confirmation of the rumours, but if such an encounter did take place, it would be the first meeting between a Pope and a Russian Orthodox Patriarch. The Vatican is mulling the possibility of a meeting in Hungary in 2007 between Pope Benedict and Patriarch Alexei, the Italian weekly Panorama has reported.

LIVE BROADCAST OF THE VISIT OF POPE BENEDICT XVI TO THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE ONLINE AT: http://www.patriarchate.org

Individuals who may have missed the November 29, 2006 live broadcast
of the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI to the Ecumenical Patriarchate
and the Doxology of Thanksgiving may now watch an on-demand re- broadcast online at http://www.patriarchate.org.

New York Sun Brian Murphy November 29, 2006

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) – Pope Benedict XVI began his pilgrimage among Turkey’s tiny Christian communities Wednesday by paying homage to an Italian priest slain during Islamic protests and expressing sympathy for the pressures facing religious minorities in the Muslim world.

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Los Angeles Times Tracy Wilkinson November 25, 2006

Turkey, which doesn’t recognize the Roman Catholic Church, is still rankled by Benedict’s comments on Islam.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY — To reach Turkey’s most important Roman Catholic church, a visitor must scour a traffic-choked street to find the metal doors, walk down a flight of stairs, cross a courtyard and finally step into the consecrated basilica.

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940 AM Montreal November 27, 2006, EST.

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) – No moment of Pope Benedict’s trip this week may be more closely watched as his walk through the majestic Haghia Sophia, a domed complex whose history spans Istanbul’s stormy evolution from Christianity to Islam.

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Kathimerini November 27, 2006

The pope’s visit to the seat of the Orthodox Church is taking place during a period when the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Christians living in Turkey are facing a daily struggle for their human rights and religious freedom.

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Today.Az October 20, 2006

Greece Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Turkey next month will be a welcome opportunity to help improve relations between Christian churches, the head of the world’s 200 million Orthodox Christian said Thursday.

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