Vatican City, Jul 12, 2020 / 03:50 am
Pope Francis expressed his sadness Sunday after Turkey's decision to convert the former Byzantine cathedral of Hagia Sophia back into a mosque.
In improvised remarks after reciting the Angelus, the pope recalled that July 12 is Sea Sunday, when the worldwide Church prays for seafarers.
"And the sea carries me a little farther away in my thoughts: to Istanbul. I think of Hagia Sophia, and I am very saddened," he said, according to an unofficial translation provided by the Holy See Press Office.
The pope appeared to be referring to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's decision to sign a decree July 10 turning the sixth-century edifice into an Islamic place of worship.