Pope Francis stated unequivocally in Istanbul on November 30 that he as Bishop of Rome and the worldwide Catholic Church desire unity ndash lsquo full communion rsquo - with the 300 million member Orthodox Churches and he added that the only condition for achieving this is ldquo the shared pr

Pope Calls on Muslim Leaders to Condemn Terrorist Attacks and Violence Done in the Name of IslamPope Francis called on Islamic political religious academic and intellectual leaders to condemn terrorist attacks and violence done in name of Islam nbsp nbsp He did so in a 45 minute press conferenc

Pope Francis took everybody by surprise at the end of the solemn Orthodox prayer service in the church of St George in the Fanar Istanbul nbsp on the evening of November 29 by asking the ecumenical patriarch of the 300 million member Orthodox Church nbsp Bartholomew I ldquo to pray for me an

Pope Francis prayed for some moments in the Sultan Ahmet Mosque in Istanbul on the second day of his visit to Turkey nbsp He did so standing nbsp alongside the Grand Mufti of this city nbsp head bowed eyes closed ldquo It was a moment of silent adoration rdquo the Vatican spokesman Fr Fed

On his first day in Turkey Pope Francis emphasized the urgent need to bring an end to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and in particular in Syria and Iraq and called for ldquo the solidarity of all believers rdquo to counteract ldquo fanaticism and fundamentalism as well as irrational

Pope Francis sought to inject new life into the old continent by delivering ldquo a message of hope and encouragement to all the citizens of Europe rdquo when he spoke to the European Parliament and to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg France on November 25 nbsp Speaking ldquo as a pastor