Pope Francis 'saddened' over Turkey's Hagia Sophia conversion to mosque

During his address on July 12, Pope Francis said that he is ‘very saddened’ by the thought of Turkey’s decision of converting Istanbul's landmark Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque. The cleric admitted that he is ‘distressed’ over the turn of events in Istanbul after Turkish court revoked Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia status of a museum and according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan it is the country’s ‘sovereign rights’. However, the move went against the pleas made by Ankara’s NATO allies, the US and also from Russia. Greece even called the development as provocative and France deplored it.

“I think of Hagia Sophia”, said Pope Francis, “and I am very saddened.”

The building in the centre of the discussion has been the “living example” of religious harmony in the form of a stone since 1934. In recent years it even emerged as one of the most popular tourist attraction in Turkey drawing over 3.5 million visitors in just last year. Hagia Sophia was built by Byzantine Christian Emperor Justinian in 537 and was dedicated to Divine Wisdom.

Only after the Ottoman conquest of  Constantinople in 1453, the basilica was converted into a mosque and the city was renamed as Istanbul. In 1934, the ‘founding father’ of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk turned the Hagia Sophia into a museum that later became UNESCO world heritage site.

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Francis calls for 'quick implementation' of UN resolution

Meanwhile, just last week, amid the unprecedented outbreak of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, Pope Francis has called for ‘immediate, global ceasefire’ as proposed by the United Nation. As the global coronavirus infections surpassed 12.7 million and 565,700 deaths as per Johns Hopkins University tally, the cleric has said that ceasefire is essential in a bid to handle the COVID-19 pandemic. After praising the UN resolution, Francis hoped that it is ‘implemented quickly’ for the betterment of the society that is rocked by the global health crisis and called it “first step” towards a peaceful future. 

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Image: AP