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Papal trips are often as much about what is not said and done as the words and gestures actually delivered by the Roman visitor and his local hosts. As Pope Benedict XVI's four-day trip to Turkey drew to a close Friday, here is an initial tally of what did and didn't happen on this most delicate visit...
...many centuries, Roman pontiffs attempted to blend spiritual and temporal power into a single figure. The Pope was, then, not only the highest spiritual authority in Christianity, but also a monarch with absolute power over earthly affairs. Although often well-intentioned, this dual ambition led to repeated abuses like political excommunications and the selling of indulgences to adjust the Papal budget balance...
...much-anticipated voyage to Turkey that kicks off Tuesday, Benedict trades in his Pilgrim-in-Chief hat for his helmet as the Roman Catholic Church's Diplomat Maximus. It is largely new terrain for the 79-year-old Pontiff, a trained theologian who spent two decades in the Vatican working on doctrinal matters. The terrestrial exigencies of diplomacy will touch on both geopolitics and inter-religious relations during the four-day visit, as Turkey is both 98% Muslim and the historic home of a competing Eastern branch of Christianity. Everything, of course, will be amplified in the wake of Benedict...
Though down by almost 25,000 votes, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi refused to concede to Romano Prodi after April's elections. Berlusconi pointed to five ballot boxes discarded in Roman streets as evidence of error. After the results were upheld, he vowed to make Prodi's government "fall as quickly as possible." For the record, Prodi is still in charge...
...regretted the consequences of his misunderstood words, but he did not retract his statement--perhaps rightly so. After all, he had simply cited an ancient Emperor. It is Benedict's right to exercise his critical opinion without being expected to apologize for it--whether he's an ordinary Roman Catholic or the Pope...