Pope Benedict had visited Istanbul's Blue Mosque in 2006. Then the Pope while being at the center of the place of worship had paused for a moment and prayed with his eyes closed for a couple of seconds. Pope Francis visited there the year after he was elected Pope in 2014. By then, the world and interfaith relations had changed a lot for worse since Pope Benedict's visit. Pope Francis stood still and prayed for about two minutes, holding the hand of the Imam. Pope Francis praying silently holding the hand of a brother of another faith, was a very beautiful picture of interfaith relationship!

Each person has one's own personality. It does not seem to me that Pope Leo demonstrates the same creative sporadic ability to say or act instantaneously as Pope Francis did. Pope Leo seems to be a person who thinks and wants to plan things out ahead. A touring visit to the Blue Mosque was on his agenda. The local government or the Blue Mosque authority had arranged for him a scholarly guide to explain things. The guide was going on explaining things non-stop. In the meantime, the Imam of the mosque said, "If you want, you can pray here." The Pope responded to that, "I will look around" meaning that let the tour go on. While on the plane, the news reporters asked him why he did not pray at the Blue Mosque. "Who said I did not pray?", was his question in response. He said that he was constantly in the awareness of the presence of God and that he was always praying. The fact that he did not close his eyes and stand still was the proof for the news reporters that he did not pray. Pope Leo pointed out Brother Lawrence's little book "The Practice of the Presence of God" as a beautiful text book on contemplative prayer.

Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection was a Carmelite monk who lived and spread the fragrance in the 17th century. In this book, which is considered a spiritual classic, he talks about being mindful of the loving presence of God at each and every moment. About lovingly conversing to God every moment is in the awareness of 'oneself and the God who loves and encircles us'. It is the most practical form of contemplative prayer.

There are traditional and online media all over the world that, without any particular love for the Gospels, Christian theology, or the Popes, interpret and take positions on church matters, primarily basing on their far-right ideologies. For them, God has no active territory inside a place of worship belonging to any other religion. Or rather, God is not present there!! Therefore, one cannot even pray to the true God while being there!!! To what primitive era they are taking us!