Andrea Santoro, but a church official warned of new attacks against Christians.
Santoro, 60, was shot outside his church Sunday, February 5, in the Black Sea port of Trabzon, in northeast Turkey. Turkish media said Santoro died from a single shot to the chest. The priest’s killer reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" or "Allah is Great" before firing the bullet.
It was unclear if the shooting was connected to widespread Muslim outrage over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, which have been published in European media. Turkey, like many other Muslim countries, has seen protests in many cities and towns over the past week against the cartoons.
Worldwide, at least seven people have so far died in weeklong violent protests against cartoons satirizing the Prophet Muhammad. Five people reportedly died after police in Afghanistan fired on protesters when a police station came under attack, while in Lebanon a protestor was engulfed by flames when the Danish Embassy in Beirut was torched.
In Somalia, a 14-year-old boy was shot dead and several others were injured after protesters attacked the police, news reports said. Further protests have been taking place from Gaza to India, Indonesia and Iran.
MORE VIOLENCE
In the Turkish port of Trabzon, the head of the Catholic bishops there, monsignor George Marovich, warned of more violence against Christians following the murder of the priest. "The security forces are well organized but there is the risk that the situation will deteriorate," the Italian news agency Adnkronos International (AKI) quoted him as telling Milan daily Il Giornale.
"We are speechless…I still can’t believe that someone could do this to him," Marovich reportedly said. He described Santoro as "an extraordinary person" who did "great work in helping women escape from the prostitution racket," something which "has put him in the sights of the local mafia."
However Santoro "refused to be intimidated," Marovich stressed. Asked whether the raging row over the Danish cartoons could have played a role, Marovich confirmed that "this episode risks causing a very deep rift between Islam and the other religions."
"BEYOND COMPREHENSION"
In published remarks, Turkey’s Justice Minister Cemil Cicek vowed to find the gunman, adding that the shooting of a man of religion in a house of worship was "beyond comprehension".
Turkish media said Trabzon governor Huseyin Yavuzdemir claimed the priest had received threats for conducting "missionary activities" in Turkey. This was not an isolated incident as church representatives, including Christian missionaries, have been attacked before by Islamic militants.
They have also been criticized by government ministers, who are keen to preserve Turkey’s Muslim culture and identity. (With BosNewsLife’s Stefan J. Bos and reports from Turkey).
