As the whole world knows, on July 10, 2020 the Turkish court declared it legal to transform the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque. I made a video response that can be watched above. I basically take the view that it’s equally an abomination to have this building a mosque or a museum because it was built for neither. Both are a perversion. I also said that the true crime happened in 1453 and not July 10, 2020. Basically I didn’t care as it was just one abomination to another.
Now, many people on the other hand see the conversion of the Hagia Sophia to a mosque as an insult. Obviously many Eastern Orthodox voices spoke out. Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church condemned it. The Prime Minister of Greece condemned it. On top of all that, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople who resides in Istanbul condemned it.
Now, throughout this whole ordeal, Pope Francis was silent. The Pope is very good friends with Patriarch Bartholomew so why didn’t he stick up for his friend? Not to mention the millions of separated brethren who are insulted by this move of Erdogan. The Pope is the biggest religious voice in the world. Although it was unlikely this would have changed Erdogan’s mind, it certainly wouldn’t have hurt.
The mass that I attend starts at 7:15 am. I got up at 6:30 am and took a look at my Twitter feed. I saw a CNA article about how Pope Francis expressed sadness over the Hagia Sophia decision. What???? Too little too late. A total lack of courage on his part. He let his friend Patriarch Bartholomew out to dry.
Here’s the article.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-expresses-sadness-after-hagia-sophia-is-declared-a-mosque-53026
In this article it links to an Orthodox newspaper that criticized the Catholic Church for their silence on this issue. Here’s the article.
In this article which came out July 10, 2020 we read the following:
At a time when the Holy See was silent and their bishops in Turkey were “washing their hands” of the issue of Hagia Sophia, the only ones who rοse to the occasion, were the Catholic Bishops of Greece, whose Holy Synod sent a letter to the Turkish president calling on him to stop the actions.
“The Holy Synod does not want to believe that you really intend to take such an action, which would offend the religious sentiments of two billion Christians around the world. If there is, even in your mind, such a thought, we ask you to withdraw such a possibility, which will create greater distances between Monotheistic Religions. This is unthinkable for us, especially today when an effort is being made to respect the faith of every human being and especially in Democratic States,” the Catholic Hierarchy of Greece wrote to T. Erdogan.
Today is the official decision on the future of Hagia Sophia, this emblematic church of the entire Eastern Orthodox Church, and unfortunately, at least so far, Rome continues to be a bystander.
A bystander until this morning when the Holy Father expressed sadness. Pretty sad. I hope as a consolation prize that this Hagia Sophia conversion shows a lot of people that inter-faith publicity stunts are pointless whether it’s praying in the Blue Mosque or signing the stupid Abu Dhabi document. Maybe if Erdogan converted the Hagia Sophia a few years ago, the Abu Dhabi statement wouldn’t have been signed. I hope the curia wakes up. In the meantime I recommend that all Turks denounce Islam and Kemalism and come to Jesus Christ and His Church.
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