Vatican City, Jul 12, 2020 / 04:50 am MT (CNA).- Pope Francis expressed his sadness Sunday after Turkey’s decision to convert the former Byzantine cathedral of Hagia Sophia back into a mosque. In improvised remarks after reciting the Angelus, the pope recalled that July 12 is Sea Sunday, when the …

CNA Staff, Jul 10, 2020 / 10:15 am MT (CNA).- Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has signed a decree converting Hagia Sophia, the former cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Istanbul, into a mosque. The presidential decree was signed within hours of a court ruling Friday, which declared unlawful an 80-year …

CNA Staff, Jul 9, 2020 / 04:01 pm MT (CNA).- While Turkey’s president has made moves to close the museum at the former Christian basilica Hagia Sophia and revert it to a mosque, the Patriarch of Constantinople has said the massive site should remain as it is, a place of …