Turkey and the Holy See should create a bilateral committee to address ''unresolved matters'' between the two states, Pope Benedict XVI suggested Monday.
Receiving a delegation of Turkish bishops, Benedict said he hoped ''permanent contacts'' could be established to resolve problems facing Catholics in Turkey, including the fact that Ankara has not granted legal recognition to the Catholic Church.
This makes it difficult for the Church to own and buy property or build churches, schools and hospitals in Turkey.
The pontiff also encouraged a vocational drive given the lack of priests in the country and appealed for ''ever simpler'' access to places of Christian pilgrimage.
Turkey, whose 62 million inhabitants are overwhelmingly Muslim, was one of the countries which reacted strongly to Benedict's observations on Islam during a lecture at a German university in 2006.
The Turkish Premier and leading Islamic clerics in the country sharply criticised the German pontiff for citing a Byzantine medieval emperor who criticised Islam and demanded an apology.
Benedict's trip to the country later in the year helped smooth relations, and he won Turkish praise by backing Ankara's bid to join the European Union, stressing his respect for Islam as a peaceful religion and visiting Istanbul's Blue Mosque - making him the second pope ever to visit a mosque.
There are about 35,000 Catholics living in Turkey. Ephesus, an ancient city on Turkey's west coast, hosts a shrine which is said to mark the home of the mother of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.
