		<div class="wpcnt">
			<div class="wpa">
				<span class="wpa-about">Advertisements</span>
				<div class="u top_amp">
							<amp-ad width="300" height="265"
		 type="pubmine"
		 data-siteid="111265417"
		 data-section="2">
		</amp-ad>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div><p>Pope Francis has said he is <em>“deeply pained”</em> over the decision by Turkey to change the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque.</p>
<p>The sixth century building in Istanbul was originally constructed as a Christian cathedral.</p>
<p>In a very brief, improvised remark, Francis, speaking from his studio window overlooking St Peter’s Square, noted the Catholic Church marked Sunday as International Day of the Sea.</p>
<p><em>“And the sea brings me a little far away with my thought to Istanbul,”</em> the Pontiff said.</p>
<p><em>“I am thinking of St Sophia and I am deeply pained.”</em></p>
<p>Francis said no more but was clearly referring to the move by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to formally convert the monumental building back into a mosque.</p>
<p>The colossal Santa Sophia cathedral was turned into a mosque after the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453.</p>
<p>The Turkish secular government in 1934 decided to make it a museum.</p>
<p>The pope, who heads the Roman Catholic Church, is adding his voice to strong objections a day earlier by the head of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches.</p>
<p>That organisation described its <em>“grief and dismay”</em> in noting that Hagia Sophia has been <em>“a place of openness, encounter and inspiration for people from all nations”</em>.</p>
<p>The council’s membership comprises Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches.</p>
<p>Mr Erdogan declared the monument open for Muslim worship after a high court annulled the 1934 government decision.</p>
			<div style="padding-bottom:15px;" class="wordads-tag" data-slot-type="belowpost">
				<div id="atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68ed145a48b04">
					<script type="text/javascript">
						window.getAdSnippetCallback = function () {
							if ( false === ( window.isWatlV1 ?? false ) ) {
								// Use Aditude scripts.
								window.tudeMappings = window.tudeMappings || [];
								window.tudeMappings.push( {
									divId: 'atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68ed145a48b04',
									format: 'belowpost',
								} );
							}
						}

						if ( document.readyState === 'loading' ) {
							document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', window.getAdSnippetCallback );
						} else {
							window.getAdSnippetCallback();
						}
					</script>
				</div>
			</div>
Discover more from London Glossy Post
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
