A meeting that, “spent in a serene climate, sounds promising… With patience, the talks between the two sides suggest there is a chance of finding an agreement”. This was written in a short release, in which the Turkish Bishops Conference (Cet) took stock of the hearing it had yesterday with the “Grand Assembly”, which is like the Italian Parliament, during which it explained “its problems and its claims, to be added to the new Constitution that is being drawn up”. As is known, “the Latin Catholic Church asks that its legal status be acknowledged as a Church in Turkey”. (continued)

“The Governmental representatives - the notice of Cet states - highlighted, however, that such claim does not depend on the new Constitution but can be granted under a special law. The next meetings will cover the problems of the property of the Church, the schools, hospitals, and other assets the Latin Catholic Church currently owns. “With patience - the release ends - the talks between the two sides suggest there is a chance of finding an agreement”. As mentioned by SIR yesterday, the meeting is due to the initiative of the Turkish ambassador to the Holy See, Kenan Gürsoy. The delegation of the Church was composed of mgr. Ruggero Franceschini, president of Cet, mgr. Louis Pelâtre, apostolic vicar of Istanbul, mgr. Georges Khazzoum (for Armenian Catholics), mgr. Yusuf Sað (for Syro-Catholics) and the spokesman of Cet, Rinaldo Marmara. On February 20th, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, had a hearing too.