The same old problems can't be resolved in Turkey between the Turkish government and the Orthodox Church. Since 1971 the Halki Orthodox School of Theology (which operated within the guidelines of the Turkish department of education in the running of a high school and college/seminary) has been closed under specious claims.
Asia News reports today that problems persist and reciprocity is not an adequate avenue for a peaceful end to the Muslim-Orthodox Christian problem.
The head of the Turkish government and his ministers can't be trusted. Their words are not matched by their actions, and certainly they don't perceive facts in the same way as reasonable do. In short, they are duplicitous. Why is religious freedom for Christians in a Muslim country such as Turkey or Saudi Arabia is impossible and Muslim religious freedom in Christian countries (USA, Greece, Italy) is possible, even with the extraordinary fanaticism that exists in many Islamic quarters?
Whether Turkey can be trusted or not remains to be seen. It is important to point out that the both the Orthodox Church in Turkey, along with the Syriacs and Armenian Apostolic Church are in favor of Turkey joining the EU. In a nutshell, the reason they are in favor of Turkish EU membership is that there will be leverage to force Turkey to live up to the constitutional guarantee, which has been part of the Turkish constitution since the republic was established, as well as a condition for EU membership, to grant religious freedom to all citizens. Hence, unlike Saudi Arabia, which constitutionally bans all religions except Islam, Turkey already, at least notionally, guarantess this first freedom.
In addition to bringing leverage to bear on the problem once membership is granted, meaningful religious freedom is a pre-condition for EU membership. So, Turkey's determination to join the EU will be gauged in no small part on their action or inaction. Orthodox, Armenian, Syriacs, and even the few Catholics and Protestants are engaged in a struggle. It is important, as the Holy Father demonstrated during his Apostolic visit, having consulted exhaustively with Christian leaders prior to his trip, for us to work in union with them to achieve their legitimate aspiration to worship God through Christ in the Holy Spirit in the land where Christianity took hold early on.
St. Paul- pray for us
From what I can gather the Turkish government has not been too cooperative with Christians. I think recent reports --aside from this one-- have indicated that Turkey has no intention of giving Halki back to the Orthodox or make it easier for future elections to the ecumenical patriarchate. While it is true the various churches have supported Turkey's EU membership I think it is naive for the churches (and westerners) to think that EU membership will prove helpful or honest if they have heretofore not lived up to prior agreements. Islam, even secularistic Islamic state like Turkey is hostile Christianity and I think would promise anything for economic and political advancements. Diplomatic agreements on religion have failed, as far as I can see.
Plus, with the near demise of the Armenian patriarch, time will tell if "positive" relations with the Turkish government will continue as they have in the recent past. It is likely that good working relations will continue with that Church.
Indeed, Saint Paul --pray for us.
The Turkish government has not only not been cooperative with the various Christian churches, it has passively allowed suppression and officially denied the free practice of the faith, which is a violation of their own fundamental law that guarantees freedom of religion. Persecution is more widespread the further east you go. So, the Syriacs at present are experiencing the worst of it.
Progress on religious freedom is a non-negotiable pre-condition for Turkey to enter the EU. Once in the Union their progress will be monitored and sanctions levied, that would would be disastrous for Turkey's economy, which would grow instantly and steadily in the EU. The churches themselves, most especially the Ecumenical Patriarchate are in favor of EU membership for Turkey. I do not think Bartholomew is naive about the situation he is living daily.
Turkey has never stated that it will not give the Halki back, though they have yet to do so. This would be the most momentous and symbolic gesture Turkey could make to show progress on religious freedom in support of its entrance into the EU. Without a doubt, Turks are very hostile to Christianity, even to the point of violence. As Christianity in Asia Minor stands on the brink of extinction, being punitive towards Turkey is no way to change the situation and we are certainly not going to settle the matter militarily.
Having spent a lot of time in central and Eastern Turkey, in and near Cappadocia, it is not as bad as one might think. In many former Greek villages now inhabited by Turks, who came to Asia Minor as part of the Greek/Turkish population exchange in 1920s, most churches are locked up and preserved. I have boxes of pictures of some of these places. The situation is dire. What is needed is constant and persistent effort on the part of the nations of the West, especially the U.S., which does not seem to care about the Christians of the Middle East.
I think the Ecu-Patriarch is an intelligent man when it comes to ecclesial matters. Regarding Islam, he's said some naive things like when I heard him say it was a privilege to live in a Muslim land. I want one thing back for full Christian worship: Hagia Sophia. Short of that, we've got problems, NASA.
Right, the Turks have said it is possible to return Halki to the Orthodox Church. But as you noted, they yet to do so, even with international pressure to do so. Hence, the title of the post, "Turkey can't be trusted" based on the current Asia News article plus Sunday's Zenit article which you no doubt saw. (http://www.zenit.org/article-27891?l=english). Have you seen the 60 Minutes story on Bartholomew? (http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6001717n)