Istanbul (Fides Service) – On November 29 with a solemn Mass at the church of Santa Maria Draperis in Istanbul a new International Fraternity will be opened by the Order of Friars Minor in the presence of Minister General Father Jose Rodríguez Carballo.
The Fraternity will work to promote ecumenical and interreligious in Turkey, a courageous initiative after the tragic bombings in the capital Istanbul. Santa Maria in Draperis church is not far from the British Consulate devastated by the recent attack.
The fraternity will comprise Father Rubén Tierrablanca (Mexico) who works at the Curia; Father Gwenole Jeusset (France) a scholar in Islam; Father Jürgen Neitzert (Germany) hitherto involved in humanitarian assistance for Turkish immigrants in Germany; Father Eleuthere Baharanyi Makuta (Republic Democratic of Congo); Italian friars Claudio Cecchitelli, Ezio Fieri and Francesco De Luca, all with international and intercultural experience and willing to work for this mission of dialogue.
“The project was started in 1995” Father Martin Miguel Vallecillo, head of the Office for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue of the Order of Friars minor told Fides. “There was a Franciscan Fraternity which belonged to the Tuscany Province. But after the General Chapter in May it was made an international fraternity directly dependent on the Minister General. It hopes to put into practice a strategy of dialogue, characterised by a life of prayer, service of others, acceptance of others, service of the poor. It will work to strengthen good relations with other Christian communities and other religions, particularly Islam”.
Father Ruben Tierrablanca Superior of the Istanbul Fraternity says the Friars are concerned about the atmosphere of tension and fear, but as Franciscans they are accepted by the local people. “Of course the mission is not without danger because terrorism strikes anywhere. But this makes it all the more urgent and important to work for dialogue in the spirit of Francis of Assisi”.
According to Bishop Louis Pelâtre Vicar Apostolic di Istanbul for Catholics of the Latin rite, “Franciscans fit the vision that the Church has towards other churches and religions. This project will be a blessing for our community and for all the religious and civil groups in Istanbul and all over Turkey”.
The Fraternity which plans special initiatives for the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in January, will attend the day of ecumenical prayer organised for 30 November, Saint Andrews Day 30 November by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Costantinople. Also present, besides representatives of many different Churches, Cardinal Walter Kasper President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Unity among Christians, Cardinal Miroslav Vlk, President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences and Bishop Ruggero Franceschini President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Turkey. (PA) (Fides Service 24/11/2003 lines 50 words 560)