Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual head of the world's Orthodox Christians, said in an interview published yesterday he would tell Pope Benedict the EU must not be a 'Christian club' and that Turkey must be allowed to join.

Pope Benedict will pay an official visit to Muslim but secular Turkey between November 28 and December 1 and will hold talks with Patriarch Bartholomew at the Patriarch's residence in Istanbul.

Before becoming Pontiff last year, Pope Benedict spoke out publicly against Ankara's bid to join the EU, saying religious and cultural differences meant Turkey did not belong in Europe.

"When I see the Pope, I shall give him the message that Turkey must enter the European Union," Patriarch Bartholomew, an ethnic Greek but Turkish citizen, told the Sabah newspaper.

"It is not wrong for Turkey as a Muslim country to be an EU member because it will enrich both sides. The EU must not remain a Christian club," said Patriarch Bartholomew, whose ancient office dates back to Byzantium when Istanbul was known as Constantinople.

Turkey began its EU entry talks last year but is not expected to join the bloc for many years if ever. It faces growing resistance, notably from France and the Pope's native Germany, who are fearful that it would dilute the EU too much.

Patriarch Bartholomew said the Pope's visit was a great opportunity for Turkey to show it can be a bridge between civilisations.

"If (the visit) is used in a bad way, it would be harmful for Turkey's image. We must avoid such a problem while we are trying to become an EU member," said the Patriarch.

Many Turkish nationalists and Islamists are opposed to the Pope's visit and protests are expected, especially after Pope Benedict upset Muslims earlier this year with comments suggesting that Islam is a religion of violence.

In the interview, Patriarch Bartholomew also complained of continued Turkish discrimination against its tiny Christian population, despite EU reforms, and repeated his call for Ankara to reopen an Orthodox seminary located on an island near Istanbul.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government, with roots in political Islam, has been seeking a legal formula that would allow the reopening of the Halki seminary, shut down in 1971, but has not yet found a compromise acceptable to the Patriarch.

Turkish nationalists are deeply suspicious of the Patriarchate, seeing it as a tool of ancient rival Greece and accusing it of trying to set up a Vatican-style state in the heart of Istanbul. The Patriarch rejects such claims.

Patriarch Bartholomew said his flock of around 3,000 Orthodox Christians in Turkey, down from 180,000 a few decades ago, could eventually disappear completely because the Church is denied the right to train new priests here.

Importing priests from Greece is not an option because they are denied residence permits to live in Turkey, he added.

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