Turkish Christians marking 2000 years since birth of St Paul

Turkey's small Roman Catholic community in Poland hopes to mark the 2000th anniversary of the birth of St Paul by improving the status of the country's Christian minorities, as well as reopening a church at the apostle's birthplace in Tarsus in the south of the Muslim-majority country, reports Ecumenical News International.

"This anniversary is certain to attract large numbers of pilgrims, who will obviously need a church where they can feel at home and pray," Bishop Luigi Padovese, the Catholic Church's apostolic vicar of Anatolia told Ecumenical News International. "A government commission is now formally considering our request. But senior officials have agreed we should be able to worship here. After all, we're not missionaries - we are merely answering the needs of church members."

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[01/10/2008]

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