Pope calls for freedom of worship

The Pope called for understanding between religions

The Pope has wrapped up his trip to Turkey by saying Mass in a Catholic cathedral in Istanbul, and issuing a plea for freedom of religion in Turkey.

"The Church wishes to impose nothing on anyone, and merely asks to live in freedom," Benedict XVI said.

The Pope used the trip to try to mend fences after offending some Muslims with comments he made in September.

Many Turkish papers said he succeeded, with his moment of prayer in Istanbul's Blue Mosque hailed a "great gesture".

Turkey's liberal newspaper Milliyet called it "The Istanbul Peace", while Vatan declared: "History Written in Istanbul."

Hurriyet, one of Turkey's most influential papers, called Benedict "the congenial pope".

The 79-year-old pontiff had paused during his tour of the famous mosque on Thursday, standing alongside the mufti of Istanbul, facing Mecca and adopting an attitude of Muslim prayer known as "the posture of tranquillity".

"It was something beautiful," said the mufti, Mustafa Cagrici.

The atmosphere here is tense rather than indifferent Mark Mardell in Turkey Pope's defining moments

The Pope also made a conciliatory gesture to Turkey by expressing support for its membership of the EU, reversing the opposition he voiced as a senior cardinal, when he said it would be "a grave error".

However he implied that respecting freedom of worship should be a condition for Turkey's entry.

He said on Friday that he hoped his four-day visit would contribute to a "better understanding" between religions.

Much of the trip was spent trying to strengthen relations with the Orthodox Church, which split from the Vatican nearly 1,000 years ago.

The Pope's gesture of prayer impressed Turkish observers

On Thursday the Pope joined the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, to celebrate the feast day of St Andrew, patron saint of the Orthodox Church.

On Friday the two men were side-by-side again as the Pope said Mass.

The Pope said: "The divisions which exist among Christians are a scandal to the world," and the two men pledged to continue working to bring the "Great Schism" between their religions to an end.

Before the Mass on Friday, Benedict released white doves in front of Istanbul's Holy Spirit cathedral and blessed a statue of John XXIII, a former pope who was also a Vatican diplomat in Istanbul, and helped save thousands of Jews from south-east Europe being deported to Nazi Germany.

The Pope then left Turkey at lunchtime on Friday.