Armenian Patriarch of Turkey Promotes Country’s Entry in EU

“We have understood that it is not enough for us to express our position individually, but that it is necessary to take a joint position,” the patriarch explained. “We have seen that the greatest obstacle is a religious reason, as, in the great majority, Turkey is a Muslim country.”

Should Christian Europe proffer this as a reason for exclusion, it would be a contradiction with Christianity itself, the patriarch continued.

“This fact would become a provocation for the Muslims” in Turkey, he said. “The Muslim 99% would become the enemy of that 1% that is Christian.”

This is why the Turkish religious minorities, represented by the patriarch, are requesting that “religion not be used against Turkey as a factor to deny it membership” in the European Union.

A few days ago, the patriarch addressed this issue in Brussels with Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission.

Vatican Radio reported that religious minorities in Turkey enjoy freedom of worship, but there are ethnic problems and others linked to the legislation that governs real estate.

“When I return from this trip, I will go to Ankara to congratulate the new Prime Minister — chosen following the last elections in which the neo-Islamic Justice and Development Party won,” Patriarch Mesrob said in statements reported by Vatican Radio.

“I will explain our problems, asking for effective parity between Muslims and Christians,” he said. “Indeed, it is what Europe asks for: equality of rights among all citizens.”