MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th July, 2020) Pope Francis said on Sunday that he was disappointed by Turkey's decision to convert the Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul into a mosque.
"I am thinking about Istanbul, thinking about Hagia Sophia, and I am very saddened," the pontiff said during a traditional Sunday mass at St. Peter's Square in front of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City.
On Friday, Turkey's top administrative court, the Council of State, annulled a 1934 cabinet decree converting Hagia Sophia into the museum, which means that it can now be used as a mosque. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan immediately signed a relevant decree. The building, initially founded as a Byzantine cathedral, is expected to open for Muslim prayers on July 24.
The ruling has been met with firm resistance from many members of the international community. The Russian Orthodox Church has expressed its regret that Ankara ignored calls to preserve the site as a museum, and both Washington and Athens have also criticized the decision.
