Pope Benedict has expressed his pain over the killing of an Italian Catholic priest in Turkey on Sunday.
The pontiff said in a message to Italy's highest-ranking cardinal, Camillo Ruini, that he was "deeply moved" by the death of Father Andrea Santoro, whom he called a "respected and zealous priest".
Father Santoro, 58, was shot dead in his church in the Black Sea town of Trabzon while he was praying after mass. His killer was reportedly a youth of about 17 who shouted "Allah is Great" before fleeing.
Benedict voiced the desire to see the missionary priest's death become a "seed of hope for the construction of an authentic fraternity between nations".
The pope also sent his solidarity to Turkey's Christian community. In a message to its head, Msgr Luigi Padovese, he also affirmed his "firm condemnation of any for of violence". It was initially thought that the murder might be connected to a wave of violent protests in the Muslim world over the publication of allegedly blasphemous cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in the European press.
However, investigators were also considering the possibility that Father Santoro's death was related to his efforts to free prostitutes from the clutches of local organised crime.
The cleric, who was born near Rome, had dedicated considerable energy to trying to help prostitutes brought to Turkey from former Soviet republics.
