Press Conference on Flight from Istanbul to Beirut

Matteo Bruni:

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome. We have completed this first part of the journey, and we thank the Holy Father for his presence among us and for this first part of the journey, which has given us the opportunity to accompany him.

I don’t know if you want to say a few words… Then there are some journalists who have prepared [some questions].

Pope Leo XIV:

Good afternoon, buon pomeriggio a tutti. I’ll speak English to start, I think most of you understand, I’m happy to greet you. I hope you all had as good a time in Türkiye as I did, I think it was a wonderful experience. As you know, the primary reason for coming to Türkiye was the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. We had that magnificent celebration very simple, and yet very profound, on the site of one of the ancient basilicas of Nicaea to commemorate the great event of the agreement of the whole Chrisitan community and the profession of faith, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.

Besides that, of course, there were many other events that we celebrated. I personally I want to express to all of you my gratitude for all the work that went into planning the visit, beginning with the nuncio, the staff, the whole team from Rome, of course, that did all the organization, but in a very special way the government of Türkiye, president Erdoğan and so many people that he put at our disposition in order to make sure that the trip would be a total success, his personal helicopter, many means of transportation, organization, etc, the presence of the ministers in various moments along the visit, so it was I think a great success.

I was very happy to have the different moments we had with the different Churches, with the different Christian communities, with the Orthodox Churches, culminating this morning with the Divine Liturgy with patriarch Bartholomew, so it was a wonderful celebration and I hope that all of you shared that same experience so thank you. I don’t know if there any questions or comments, just a couple because they are waiting for me for more photos.

Matteo Bruni:

We have a first question from Baris Seçkin, a Turkish journalist from the Anadolu Ajansi press agency:

Baris Seçkin (Anadolu Ajansi): Thank you very much. At the beginning of your papal trip you made reference to world and regional peace. In this regard, what is your comment on Turkiye’s role in achieving and maintaining world and regional peace, and what were your discussions with president Erdoğan on this matter? Thank you.

Pope Leo XIV:

To have come to Turkiye, and of course now to Lebanon, on this trip there was of course a special theme of, if you will, being a messenger of peace, of wanting to promote peace throughout region. Turkiye has a number of, if you will, qualities about it, it is a country of, the vast majority being Muslims and yet the presence of numerous Christian communities there, although a very small minority, and yet people of different religions are able to live in peace. And that is one example I would say of I think what we all would be looking for throughout the world.

To say that in spite of religious differences, in spite of ethnic differences, in spite of many other differences people can indeed live in peace. Turkiye itself has had, of course, in its history various moments when it was not always the case and yet to have experienced that and to have been able to speak also with president Erdoğan about peace I think was an important element, a worthwhile element of my visit.

Matteo Bruni:

Thank you Baris, thank you, Your Holiness. The other question comes from Seyda Canepa, from the Turkish television:

Seyda Canepa:

Your Holiness, with President Erdoğan, aside from the official declarations, did you speak about the situation in Gaza, given that the Vatican and Türkiye have the same view of the solution of two peoples, two States? And then, regarding Ukraine, the Vatican on more than one occasion has emphasized Türkiye’s role, starting with the opening of the grain corridor at the beginning of the conflict. So, do you see hope for a truce in Ukraine and a faster peace process in Gaza at this time? Many thanks.

Pope Leo XIV:

Thank you! Certainly, we spoke about both situations. The Holy See has for several years publicly supported the proposal of a two-State solution. We all know that at present Israel still does not accept this solution, but we see it is the only solution that could offer, let us say, an answer to the conflict they continue to live. We are also friends of Israel, and we are trying to act as a mediating voice for both sides, helping to bring about a solution that is fair for everyone. We discussed this with President Erdoğan, who certainly agrees with this proposal. Türkiye has an important role to play in this.

The same goes for Ukraine. A few months ago, with the possibility of dialogue between Ukraine and Russia, the President was very helpful in bringing the two sides together. Unfortunately, we have not yet seen a solution, but today there have been concrete peace proposals. And let us hope that President Erdoğan, with his relationship with the presidents of Ukraine, Russia and the United States, can help in this regard to promote dialogue, a ceasefire and find a way to resolve this conflict, this war in Ukraine. Thank you.

I greet you all. Have a good journey! He [Matteo Bruni] has suggested that I say a word after the important ecumenical meeting in Nicaea. Yesterday morning we spoke about possible future meetings. One would be in the year 2033, two thousand years after the Redemption, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is obviously an event that all Christians would like to celebrate. The idea was accepted; we have not yet made the invitation but there is the possibility of celebrating this great event of the Resurrection in Jerusalem in 2033, for example. There are still years to prepare for it. However, it was a very beautiful meeting, because Christians of different traditions were present and were also able to participate in this moment.

Thank you! Thank you all.