Rome (RNS/ENI) Pope Benedict XVI has called on Turkey to give legal recognition to the Roman Catholic Church in the Muslim-majority but politically secular nation, which has been criticized for its treatment of religious minorities as it seeks to join the European Union.

Receiving Kenan Gursoy, the new Turkish ambassador to the Vatican last week (Jan. 7), Benedict said Catholics appreciated the freedom of worship, “guaranteed by the constitution” in Turkey. However, he added that “civil juridical recognition” would help the church, “to enjoy full religious freedom and to make an even greater contribution to society.”

About 99 percent of Turkey’s 77-million people are Muslim. The Catholic Church there has about 32,000 members.

A November 2009 “progress report” by the European Commission on Turkey’s possible membership in the European Union said that “non-Muslim communities — as organized structures of religious groups — still face problems due to lack of legal” recognition.

Non-Muslim religious communities in Turkey have also reported “frequent discrimination and administrative uncertainty” regarding places of worship, according to the commission’s report.

Last April, Bishop Luigi Padovese, the president of Turkey’s Catholic bishops conference, said that local parishes faced “great difficulties” in the some parts of the country.

“Officially, the Catholic Church does not exist here since we are not recognized as a minority,” Padovese said. “We have insisted that legal recognition would not in any way endanger the secular character of the Turkish republic, but there are many things still to be done before Turkey can be said to ensure religious freedom and pluralism.”

In his address to Turkey’s new ambassador to the Vatican, Benedict said, “As a secular democratic state that straddles the boundary between Europe and Asia, Turkey is well placed to act as a bridge between Islam and the West, and to make a significant contribution to the effort to bring peace and stability to the Middle East.”

In 2006, during a visit by the pope to Turkey, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reported that Benedict supported the idea of Turkey joining the EU. Before becoming pope, Benedict opposed EU membership for Turkey.