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 Ο Jesse White επαναλαμβάνει την υποστήριξή του για το Ψήφισμα 100 της Γερουσίας για την πρέπουσα διεθνή αναγνώριση στον Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη ανταποκρινόμενος σε έκκληση του Περιφερειάρχη του ΣΑΕ ΗΠΑ Θ. Γ. Σπυρόπουλου
Ο υπουργός Εξωτερικών της Πολιτείας του Illinois Jesse White επανέλαβε την υποστήριξή του για το Ψήφισμα 100 της Γερουσίας, το οποίο εισηγήθηκε ο Antonio Munoz (D-Chicago) και παροτρύνει την κυβέρνηση της Τουρκίας να παράσχει την πρέπουσα διεθνή αναγνώριση στον Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη, εκκλησιαστικό δικαίωμα διαδοχής και το δικαίωμα να εκπαιδεύει κληρικούς όλων των εθνικοτήτων, να σεβασθεί τα δικαιώματα ιδιοκτησίας και τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου.
«Πιστεύω ότι η ελευθερία της θρησκείας θα πρέπει να εγγυάται σε όλους» δήλωσε ο JesseWhite σε σχετικό δελτίο Τύπου που εξέδωσε στις 30 Οκτωβρίου 2009. «Το Ψήφισμα 100 της Γερουσίας υπογραμμίζει τη σημασία της θρησκευτικής ελευθερίας, αναγνωρίζοντας τα δικαιώματα του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου, παροτρύνοντας ταυτοχρόνως την ειρηνική θρησκευτική συνύπαρξη στην Τουρκία».
Η εξέλιξη αυτή σημειώθηκε μετά από σχετική έκκληση του Περιφερειάρχη του ΣΑΕ ΗΠΑ Θ. Γ. Σπυρόπουλου.
Ακολουθεί το Δελτίο Τύπου από το Γραφείο του JesseWhite και το Ψήφισμα 100 της Γερουσίας
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 100
Urging the Government of Turkey to grant the Ecumenical Patriarch appropriate international
recognition, ecclesiastical succession, and the right to train clergy of all nationalities and to respect the property rights and human rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS, The Ecumenical Patriarchate, located in Istanbul, Turkey, is the Sacred See that presides in a spirit of brotherhood over a communion of self-governing churches of the Orthodox Christian world; and
WHEREAS, The See is led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who is the 269th in direct
succession to the Apostle Andrew and holds titular primacy as primus inter pares, meaning "first among equals," in the community of Orthodox churches world-wide; and
WHEREAS, In 1994, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, along with leaders of the Appeal of
Conscience Foundation, cosponsored the Conference on Peace and Tolerance, which brought together Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religious leaders for an interfaith dialogue to help end the Balkan conflict and the ethnic conflict in the Caucasus region; and
WHEREAS, In 1997, the Congress of the United States awarded Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with the Congressional Gold Medal; and
WHEREAS, Following the terrorist attacks on our nation on September 11, 2001, Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew gathered a group of international religious leaders to produce the first joint statement with Muslim leaders that condemned the 9/11 attacks as "antireligious";
and
WHEREAS, In October 2005, the Ecumenical Patriarch, along with Christian, Jewish, and Muslim
leaders, cosponsored the Conference on Peace and Tolerance II to further promote peace and stability in southeastern Europe, the Caucasus region, and Central Asia via religious leaders' interfaith dialogue, understanding, and action; and
WHEREAS, The Orthodox Christian Church, in existence for nearly 2,000 years, numbers
approximately 300,000,000 members world-wide with more than 2,000,000 members in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Since 1453, the continuing presence of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey has been a living testament to the religious coexistence of Christians and Muslims; and
WHEREAS, This religious coexistence is in jeopardy because the Ecumenical Patriarchate is
considered a minority religion by the Turkish government; and
WHEREAS, The Government of Turkey has limited the candidates available to hold the office of
Ecumenical Patriarch to only Turkish nationals, and from the millions of Orthodox Christians living in Turkey at the turn of the 20th century and due to the continued policies during this period by the Turkish government, there remain less than 3,000 of the Ecumenical Patriarch's flock left in Turkey today; and
WHEREAS, The Government of Turkey closed the Theological School on the island of Halki in 1971 and has refused to allow it to reopen, thus impeding training for Orthodox Christian clergy; and WHEREAS, The Turkish government has confiscated nearly 94% of the Ecumenical Patriarchate's properties and has placed a 42% tax, retroactive to 1999, on the Baloukli Hospital and Home for the Aged, a charity hospital run by the Ecumenical Patriarchate; and
WHEREAS, The European Union, a group of nations with a common goal of promoting peace and the well-being of its peoples, began accession negotiations with Turkey on October 3, 2005; and
WHEREAS, The European Union defined membership criteria for accession at the Copenhagen
European Council in 1993, obligating candidate countries to achieve certain levels of reform, including stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, adherence to the rule of law, and respect for and protection of minorities and human rights; and
WHEREAS, The Turkish government's current treatment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is
inconsistent with the membership conditions and goals of the European Union; and
WHEREAS, Orthodox Christians in this State and throughout the United States stand to lose their spiritual leader because of the continued actions of the Turkish government; and
WHEREAS, The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle, a group of laymen who each have been honored with a patriarchal title, or "offikion", by the Ecumenical Patriarch for their outstanding service to the Orthodox Church, will send an American delegation to Turkey to meet with Turkish government officials, as well as the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey, regarding the Turkish government's treatment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE
STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the members of this Senate urge the Government of Turkey to: (1) uphold and safeguard religious and human rights without compromise; (2) cease its discrimination of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; (3) grant the Ecumenical Patriarch appropriate international recognition, ecclesiastic succession, and the right to train clergy of all nationalities; and (4) respect the property rights and human rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to transmit appropriate
copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey, the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to the United States, and the members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.
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