The Pope’s visit was expected to be a “tough” schedule packed with meetings with political and religious leaders amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
In Turkey, a Muslim-majority country with an estimated 36,000 Catholics, the Chicago-born pope elected in May will meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the first time in Ankara, the Guardian newspaper reported.
He will also meet with Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world’s 260 million Orthodox Christians, at the 1700th anniversary of a major early church council in Nicaea (now Iznik) that resolved the ideological dispute.
Leo’s arrival is particularly expected in Lebanon, where many fear it will deepen the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah after an Israeli attack on a neighborhood south of Beirut earlier this week killed four Hezbollah operatives and one of the group’s top officials.
Leo’s predecessor, Francisco, passed away in April and had planned to visit both countries, but was unable to do so due to poor health.
Leo is seen as a more moderate and modest executive than the charismatic but often divisive Francis, and his choice of Turkey and Lebanon for his first overseas trip is both highly strategic and an opportunity for the pope to show the world his style and personality.
Master’s degree/PR