One of the last statements by Pope John Paul before he went into hospital on February 1st was an apparently banal but in fact pointed remark about the European Union. The EU, he said, "remains willing to welcome other states, who are ready to accept the requirements for admission." In Vatican-speak, this was more than a tautology; it referred to Turkey, due to start talking entry terms in October. The pope was overruling Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, his German aide, who said last August that Turkey should seek partners elsewhere because its Muslim faith was "in permanent contrast" with Europe's Christian legacy. But the pontiff was also saying that entry had a price: religious liberty in Turkey.
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