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Pope Reveals Reservations for Turkey's EU Membership in His First Book
By Anadolu News Agency (aa)

Pope Benedict XVI, the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church, showed a suspicious attitude towards Turkey's European Union (EU) membership in the first book he has written since becoming the new Pope in the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI indicates in his new book titled "The Example of Benedict in the Crisis of Cultures" that Turkey does not have Christian roots contrary to European countries. According to the news published by Apcom, a private Italian news agency, the Pope invites readers to think about Turkey's EU bid. The news reads that the pontiff referred to Saint Benedict whom the Catholic Church perceives as the "protector of Europe" in his new book and defined Turkey as a country that has no roots in Christianity and is influenced by Islamic culture; in other words, Turkey has the atmosphere of an Islamic culture in fact. Determining in his book that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as the founder of the Turkish republic had tried to transform Turkey into a secular state by adopting secularism formed in the Christian world, Pope Benedict XVI advocated that the European identity might only be determined by the context and norms of the same enlightened culture. Any country fulfilling these criteria might be European.

The Pope's book will be launched today (21 June 2005).