The Pope received the new Ambassador of Turkey to the Holy See, Kenan Gursoy, and impressed on him and his government the need for religious liberty and freedom of worship (including the ownership of Church buildings) in the Republic, a desire shared by all Christian communities and other religious minorities. Pope Benedict especially noted the Catholic Church’s lack of juridical recognition and the importance of Turkey as a bridge between East and West, not only between Islam and the West, but also the importance of Constantinople as the seat of the Oecumenical Patriarchate at the heart of Eastern Chrisianity in a long history and into the present day.
For the full text of Zenit’s report, see here.