.- On the eve of Pope Benedict XVI’s highly anticipated trip to Turkey, President Tassos Papadopoulos, head of the divided island of Cyprus, which is now partially occupied by the Turkish army, visited with the Holy Father and presented him with two gifts, one of which was an album containing photographs of numerous Orthodox churches destroyed by the Turks since their most recent invasion of the Mediterranean Island.
After 20 minutes of private dialogue, Papadopoulos gave the Holy Father a beautiful 19th Century Byzantine icon of the Virgin and Christ child originating from one of the Orthodox churches within the Turk dominated zone, which has since been destroyed.
The President’s second gift was a large photo album featuring photographs of over 300 Orthodox churches destroyed by the Turks or used for secular and non-religious activities. After reviewing the album, the Pontiff reportedly exclaimed, “What destruction!”
Pope Benedict receives photos of Turkish destroyed churches from the President of Cyprus
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