Catholic Delegation from BiH in Visit to Istanbul

In the organization of ” Bosna Sema”educational institutions, which are acting in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1998 as a part of the Turkish movement ” Hizmet ” (serving) whose founder is Fethullah Gulen, and in cooperation with Catholic Archdiocese of Vrhbosna, Catholic delegation consisted of 6 priests and 6 faithful lay Christians, visited the largest Turkish city of Istanbul from 17^th until 21^st March 2015.

On the first day, guests visited the media outlet ”Zaman”, and their printing office. Later on, they visited Taksim Square and the Church of St. Anthony in Taksim. Next day was entirely devoted to introducing the “Hizmet” idea, and the hosts were the Association of Journalists and Writers “Kadip“. President of the association introduced B&H guests with the work of this institution, mentioning that its members are also journalists who are not ideological followers of “Hizmet “, because this movement knows no membership cards, but only supporters.Furthermore, the part of the story are also some Armenian journalists. This association seeks to dialogue and to help minority and even if it was against the ruling party, wants to mark Commemorate Centenary of Genocide over Armenians. Furthermore, they highlighted that they have excellent cooperation with the Catholic Church in Turkey, pointing out that this community is very small – around 5000 members – but very much alive. Apart from the dialogue with Catholics, they seek for cooperation with other Churches and religious communities.

The next day was tourist-oriented, and the guests visited the Ejup mosque, one of the most important places of pilgrimage of the Islamic world, Mehmed’s paša Sokolović grave, Hagia Sophia, Kapalicarsi, cruised the Bosporus and visited viewpoints Pierre Lotti and Camlica, and also the Aquarium.

Last day, after the lunch, guests and hosts were socializing for two hours, and exchanged their impressions with the desire to improve cooperation and that future meetings be even better. Moreover, the host Mehmet Karsli, a representative of ‘’Hizmet’’ movement, invited guests to visit Sarajevo College,highlighting that Bosna Semais ready to continue cooperation and dialogue with Vrhbosnian Archdiocese and the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to improve mutual understanding as there is no other option but a dialogue.

(Source: Katolicka Tiskovna Agencija)