On to Constantinople

I once read that in Greece, road signs leading to Turkey name the city Constantinople 500 years after its fall to the Turks.

I was going to come up with a huge summary post, but all the material out there floating around was rather daunting. Various other sites out there have done a great job. Down the left under the 'Daily Readings' heading are blogs that have and will have lots of info. Amy's post is invaluable for details on what the Pope will be doing in Turkey over the next few days.

So yeah, note to self: don't take the week off right before the Pope takes off to Turkey. :)

Random thoughts
It's a certainty the mainstream media will be fixated on the Christian/Muslim aspect of the trip. CNN and Anderson Cooper have already aired a 'When Cultures Collide' thing that I didn't bother watching.

Despite the statement from the other day from the Vatican regarding Turkey's membership in the EU, the way I read it, there is plenty of wiggle room there as far as what the intent was. 'We hope you do everything you need to to get in'... Like accept religious freedom for Christians, etc. etc. 'But if you don't'...

Back to the real reason for the trip, the visit from the Pope can only strengthen the Patriarch. It's funny though. Back 150 years go, Europe went to war in the Crimea over the Holy Land with the Ottoman Empire as the fulcrum. Here we are a century and a half later with Turkey pursuing admission into the EU. The Orthodox of that country continue to be squeezed while Russia looks elsewhere. It is the Church of Rome that's stepping up in fraternal friendship with its brother Church.