We hope…although concerns are being raised about a new novel, published and selling well in Turkey, premised on the assassination of Pope Benedict during his November visit to the country. Not a joke. Here’s an article (scroll down) looking at the novel and reflecting on the extent to which it reflects Turkish views on Christianity:

Ten days ago, a novel describing the assassination of Benedict XVI during his visit to Turkey came out in that country. A disturbing event, in a country to which the welcome for the Pope will certainly not be warm!

Although some Catholic bishops in Turkey are damping down the fires, a few days ago, the Apostolic vicar in Istanbul, Mons. Louis Pelatre, spoke about it to the French agency I.media. Acknowledging his bitterness at the lack of respect for religious freedom in Turkey, the bishop cited the book as an urgent example.

"This week, a novel came out that describes the assassination of the Pope while he is visiting Istanbul. This is most distressing!"

At first glance, the novel is a curious bit of news which however clearly shows the thinking in some sectors of Turkish society: those that make up the anti-Western front which in the past few months has made anti-Christian propaganda an obligation.

The book is entitled Papa’ya suikast(Assassinating the Pope], with the subtitle "Who will kill the Pope in Istanbul?". It is written by Yücel Kaya, a crime-story writer, who is gaining some success with the book which has been climbing the bestseller list on the Internet.

Printed in a large paperback format (5" x 7.5"), it tells in 336 pages a story of intrigues involving the Opus Dei, P2 [I have to find out from the Italian members what P2 stands for] and secret services.

The plot revolves around journalist Oriano Ciroella, a member of the Opus Dei who becomes the actual assassin. The mastermind is a pro-P2 Opus Dei cardinal who wants to replace Benedict XVI.

A similar scenario is also being hatched by the Turkish secret service, representing the nationalist and Islamic right wing in Turkey, which opposes the union of the Catholic and Orthodox churches in Turkey.

Up to this point, the theme of the novel appears to be just one more of the many spy stories patterned after The Da Vinci Code which, under normal circumstances, would be a problem fairly easy to deal with.

The disquieting aspect is in the real and circumstantial references to recent events of an anti-religious context, such as the murder of Don Andrea Santoro in Trebizond and the recent stabbing of Father Pierre Brunissen in Samsun. Both episodes have been explained away as isolated acts by fanatics, when actually, the climate of intimidation against Christians is very real.