CHURCH ASKS TO LIVE IN FREEDOM IN ORDER TO REVEAL CHRIST

VATICAN CITY, DEC 1, 2006 (VIS) - At 8.30 a.m. today, the Pope celebrated Mass at Istanbul's Latin Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, in the presence of faithful from various communities present in the city and from a number of Catholic rites. Also present were Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, Armenian Apostolic Patriarch Mesrob II, and Syro-Orthodox Metropolitan Filuksinos Yusuf Cetin, as well as representatives from the Protestant Churches.

  The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit was inaugurated in 1846. Under the altar are relics of certain saints, among them St. Linus, pope and martyr (67-69), St. Peter's immediate successor. In 1884, Pope Leo XIII donated the cathedral a relic of St. John Chrysostom. In May 1989, the cathedral was affiliated to the Vatican Basilica.

  In the courtyard of the building is a statue of Benedict XV (1914-1922), erected by the Turks in memory of that Pope's commitment in favor of the Turkish victims of World War One. An inscription on the statue reads: "To the great pontiff of the world tragedy, Benedict XV, benefactor of peoples without distinction of nationality or religion, in recognition."

  In 1967, Pope Paul VI visited the cathedral in the company of Patriarch Athenagoras, a gesture repeated by John Paul II, accompanied by Patriarch Dimitros I, in 1979.

  Before Mass, the Pope paused in the courtyard to bless a statue of Blessed John XXIII which is to be placed in a local church. He also freed three white doves.

  Various languages were used during the Eucharistic celebration, including Latin, Turkish, French, German, Syriac, Arabic and Spanish. The entrance antiphon and the "Sanctus" were left to the Armenian Catholics; the responsorial psalm and the offertory antiphon to the Chaldeans; the proclamation of the Gospel to the Syro-Catholics.

  "As Saint Paul has just reminded us," said Benedict XVI in his homily, "the Spirit is the enduring source of our faith and unity. He awakens within us true knowledge of Jesus and He puts on our lips the words of faith that enable us to acknowledge the Lord."

  "To manifest the Spirit, to live by the Spirit, is not to live for oneself alone, but to let oneself be conformed to Christ Jesus by becoming, like Him, the servant of his brothers and sisters. Here is a very concrete teaching for each of us."

  The Church, said the Pope, "has been charged to proclaim His Gospel to the ends of the earth, transmitting to the men and women of our time the Good News which not only illuminates but overturns their lives, even to the point of conquering death itself. This Good News is not just a word, but a person, Christ Himself, risen and alive!"

  "The Church's mission is not to preserve power, or to gain wealth; her mission is to offer Christ, to give a share in Christ's own life, man's most precious good, which God Himself gives us in His Son."

  "You know well," the Pope told his listeners, "that the Church wishes to impose nothing on anyone, and that she merely asks to live in freedom, in order to reveal the One whom she cannot hide, Christ Jesus. ... Be ever receptive to the Spirit of Christ and so become attentive to those who thirst for justice, peace, dignity and respect for themselves and for their brothers and sisters."

  "Together with the Virgin," he concluded, "let us pray to Christ her Son:  Send forth, O Lord, Your Holy Spirit upon the whole Church, that He may dwell in each of her members and make them heralds of Your Gospel!"

  Following Mass, the Pope expressed his appreciation for "the understanding and patience," and for "the truly warm welcome I have been shown, also because I know that my presence over these days has created no small disturbance in the daily lives of people in this city."

  At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Pope went by car to the airport of Istanbul where he bid farewell to the ecumenical patriarch, the Armenian apostolic patriarch and the Syro-Orthodox metropolitan. Before boarding the plane bound for Rome, he met briefly with the governor of the local region and the mayor of Istanbul.
PV-TURKEY/MASS:FAREWELL/ISTANBUL                VIS 20061201 (710)