Pope hopes priest's death can help dialogue

Pope Benedict yesterday paid tribute to the Italian Catholic priest killed in Turkey, hoping his death would promote greater understanding between Christianity and Islam.

Father Andrea Santoro, 61, was shot dead on Sunday while praying in his church in Trabzon on Turkey's Black Sea coast. The killing shocked Italy and the country's political and religious leaders are due to attend his funeral tomorrow.

The Pope, speaking at his general audience, praised Fr Santoro as a "silent and courageous servant of the Gospel" and said he had recently received a letter from the priest describing his work among minority Christians in predominantly Muslim Turkey.

The Pope said the Vatican newspaper would publish the priest's last letter.

Thousands of people in the Vatican's audience hall rose to their feet in sustained applause when the Pope mentioned the priest and praised him in a sombre voice.

"May the sacrifice of his life contribute to the cause of dialogue among religions and peace among peoples," he said.

Turkish security forces detained a high school student on Tuesday in connection with the killing, which the Turkish government condemned.

Fr Santoro's killing coincided with increased religious tensions worldwide following the publication of cartoons in some European newspapers satirising the Prophet Mohammad.

Turkish media have reported the detained student told police he was influenced by the cartoons.

A Vatican embassy spokesman in Ankara said the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar" (Arabic for "God is greatest") as he shot Fr Santoro.

The killing of the priest and the violence sparked by the lampooning of the Prophet Mohammad have caused great concern in the Vatican, where officials are worried about the safety of minority Christians in Muslim countries.

The Vatican has forcefully condemned the publication of the cartoons, saying freedom of speech did not mean freedom to offend a person's religion.

Fr Santoro's killing has also had political repercussions in Italy, where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi called on the Ankara government to "neutralise fanatics" in Turkey.

Mr Berlusconi has said the murder should not be allowed to affect Ankara's bid for EU membership but some of his own political allies have openly contested him on Turkey's credentials to join Europe.

Turkey began EU membership talks last October, but is not expected to join the bloc before 2015 at the earliest.

Many in the EU are wary about admitting Turkey, a large, mainly Muslim and relatively poor country of 72 million people.

The Pope is due to visit Turkey in November.