Heart-wrenching post:‘I am Adam Lanza’s mother. My son is mentally ill.

In the wake of the horrible mass murder of children and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, Liza Long, the mother of a mentally ill son, has penned a blog post re-titled ‘I am Adam Lanza’s Mother’ and republished on The Blue Review .

The heart-wrenching post about her daily struggle in bringing up her own son has opened a raging debate about care for the mentally challenged and if it is fair to draw up a link between violence and the mentally ill.

Liza, whose essay has been republished on websites from Gawker to the Huffington Post, lives with her 13-year-old son. The boy, named Michael (name changed by her to protect her son’s identity), is frequently out of control and has threatened to kill himself, his mother and his siblings multiple times.

She obviously loves her son, but in the essay says she no longer knows how to handle him and cope with his illness.

“I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me,” she writes. 

“A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety plan – they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to.

"I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me…”

While this might sound terrifying to those of us who have never been around special children, Liza’s essay shows that it perhaps evokes the same response among the parents of mentally ill – the only difference being that she doesn’t know how to cope with it anymore. 

Neither perhaps did Adam Lanza’s mother. Lanza been described as autistic, bright but disturbed, and mentally ill, among others, by those that knew him.

Liza’s blog says she still doesn’t know what’s wrong with Michael. “Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder have all been tossed around at various meetings with probation officers and social workers and counsellors and teachers and school administrators. He’s been on a slew of antipsychotic and mood altering pharmaceuticals, a Russian novel of behavioural plans. Nothing seems to work,” she writes.

Another incident that Liza’s blog post describes culminates into this: “Michael was in a full-blown fit by then, screaming and hitting. I hugged him close so he couldn’t escape from the car. He bit me several times and repeatedly jabbed his elbows into my rib cage. I’m still stronger than he is, but I won’t be for much longer.

“The police came quickly and carried my son screaming and kicking into the bowels of the hospital. I started to shake, and tears filled my eyes as I filled out the paperwork – “Were there any difficulties with....at what age did your child....were there any problems with...has your child ever experienced...does your child have....”

“At least we have health insurance now. I recently accepted a position with a local college, giving up my freelance career because when you have a kid like this, you need benefits. You’ll do anything for benefits. No individual insurance plan will cover this kind of thing.

“For days, my son insisted that I was lying – that I made the whole thing up so that I could get rid of him. The first day, when I called to check up on him, he said, “I hate you. And I’m going to get my revenge as soon as I get out of here.”

“By day three, he was my calm, sweet boy again, all apologies and promises to get better. I’ve heard those promises for years. I don’t believe them anymore.”

She goes on to say:  “I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanza’s mother. I am Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s mother. I am James Holmes’s mother. I am Jared Loughner’s mother. I am Seung-Hui Cho’s mother. And these boys – and their mothers – need help. In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.”

Liza laments the US healthcare system and blames it for not acknowledging the gravity of the issue. “When I asked my son's social worker about my options, he said that the only thing I could do was to get Michael charged with a crime. “If he’s back in the system, they’ll create a paper trail,” he said. “That’s the only way you’re ever going to get anything done. No one will pay attention to you unless you’ve got charges.”

Like any mother, perhaps also Adam Lanza's mother, Liza hates the thought of her son in jail. “I don’t believe my son belongs in jail. The chaotic environment exacerbates Michael’s sensitivity to sensory stimuli and doesn’t deal with the underlying pathology.

"But it seems like the United States is using prison as the solution of choice for mentally ill people. According to Human Rights Watch, the number of mentally ill inmates in U.S. prisons quadrupled from 2000 to 2006, and it continues to rise - in fact, the rate of inmate mental illness is five times greater (56 per cent) than in the non-incarcerated population.”

What is a mother to do in such a situation - she fears her son - and for her son.

“No one wants to send a 13-year old genius who loves Harry Potter and his snuggle animal collection to jail. But our society, with its stigma on mental illness and its broken healthcare system, does not provide us with other options. Then another tortured soul shoots up a fast food restaurant. A mall. A kindergarten classroom. And we wring our hands and say, “Something must be done.”

 

“I agree that something must be done. It’s time for a meaningful, nation-wide conversation about mental health. That’s the only way our nation can ever truly heal.

 

“God help me. God help Michael. God help us all," concludes Liza.

Responses to Liza’s blog have gone viral, with some chastising the Boise-based mom for dehumanising the mentally ill, who are statistically much more likely to be the victims of crimes than the perpetrators.

Among other things, one of the foremost critiques of her essay is that it presents Long’s son solely as a problem, that antipsychotic and antidepressant medications are not designed for children, and that Long criticizes the stigma against the mentally ill but also reinforces it by linking mental illness and violence.

Commenters have responded strongly to the piece, with some calling it judgmental or insensitive, while others praise it as a voice of reason.

What do you think? Should Michael and millions like him be jailed because they might, one day, end up doing what Adam Lanza did?

Or should there be  State-run institutes to help Michael and his mom so that they don't suffer the same fate as Adam and Nancy Lanza did?

Is it that simple in any case? Is there a solution to this complex problem?

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Newtown, Connecticut: Yvonne Cech Greek-American Librarian Saves 18 Children

When the 24 year-old shooter, Adam Lanza, entered the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday morning, Yvonne Cech realized that something bad was about to happen and started thinking of ways to protect her students.

When Cech, a Greek-American librarian, heard the first gunshots she locked herself, an assistant, and 18 fourth-graders in a closet behind file cabinets in the library.

“We spent 45 minutes locked in a closet during the shootings,” she said to local media in Connecticut after she made it out of the school building.

 

“The SWAT team escorted us out,” and then all 18 children were reunited with their parents.

The Greek-American librarian was one of the heroes who saved her students’ lives. Victoria Soto was another teacher who sacrificed her life to save her class. None of her students were harmed.

There were 20 children between ages 5 and 10 the staff could not save. Their names and lives could be those from any primary school on either side of the Atlantic.

Among them are Daniel Barden, aged six; Chase Kowalski, whose sister Natalie attends the school but escaped injury; Jesse Lewis, six, whose class were set to make gingerbread houses that day; Grace McDonnell, aged six, who lived a street away from her killer; Ana Marquez-Greene, aged seven, the daughter of Canadian jazz saxophonist Jimmy Greene; Emilie Parker, aged six, whose family had moved to Newtown from Utah only a year ago; Avielle Richman, Catherine Hubbard, Noah Vabner, and Benjamin Wheeler, all aged six.

The gunman, Adam Lanza, killed 27 people in total including his mother. Before heading to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where his mother was also a teacher, he shot and killed her at a house they shared in Newtown.

The motive for the mass killing, the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, remains unknown.

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USA: Everyone is shocked by the story - Adam Lanza Posted on Message Board his Plans!

 

The Newtown shooting in Connecticut was nothing anyone could have expected, but it looks like there's a chance it could've been prevented.

Just days before the shooting occurred, an anonymous threatening message showed up on the popular website 4chan.com's message board.

The message stated very specifically to the situation:

"I’m going to kill myself on Friday and it will make the news, be watching at 9am."

It appears that the message could very well be from Newtown gunman Adam Lanza, since the next message on the forum states that it will occur in Connecticut.

An every picture is shown below his message of dead bodies from the Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold in a pool of blood.

The message section also shows that the same username who posted the threatening message has not posted anything new since the tragic incident where Adam Lanza shot himself after killing 26 people.

It hasn't been confirmed whether the message board is definitely from Adam Lanza, but it's quite clear that there was a planned attack on Connecticut days before the shooting.

4chan is a controversial messageboard once described by the Guardian as “lunatic, juvenile… brilliant, ridiculous and alarming.” It is frequented by hackers as well as pranksters, which is why the veracity of the post cannot be confirmed.

However, if proven true it would mean that Lanza’s massacre was pre-planned and not a spur of the moment rampage.

We pray for the families of the victims of Newtown, CT.

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Tributes to principal and two teachers: They died trying to save the children

Principal Dawn Hochsprung and two others teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School ran selflessly towards the sound of gunfire

The heroic head teacher of the US primary school devastated by a shooting rampage died trying to stop the gunman.

Dawn Hochsprung - principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut - ran selflessly towards the sound of gunfire when a school staff meeting was cut horrifically short.

Two other members of staff also died trying to protect youngsters at the school.

School therapist Diane Day said she and several other teachers were in a meeting when they heard the terrifying sound of a gun being fired.

"We were there for about five minutes chatting and we heard, 'pop pop pop'," she told the Wall Street Journal.

"I went under the table. The principal and the school psychologist had other ideas. They jumped out of their seat and ran toward the sound of the gunfire."

School psychologist Mary Sherlach, 56, died in the tragedy while first grade teacher 27-year-old Victoria Soto threw herself in front of her students when she came face to face with the gunman.

Victoria's cousin Jim Wiltsie said police told him her first instinct - and her final act - had been to try and save her pupils.

"She put herself between the gunman and the children and that's when she was tragically shot and killed," he told ABC News.

"I'm just proud that Vicki had the instincts to protect her kids from harm.

"It brings peace to know that Vicki was doing what she loved, protecting the children and in our eyes she's a hero."

Police say the suspect in the shootings, Adam Lanza, killed his mother at their home before driving her car to the school where he went on the rampage.

Lanza's mother Nancy was a teacher at Sandy Hook, where the 20-year-old killed another 26 people, including 20 children, before shooting himself dead.

Newspapers in the US have reported that the head teacher Ms Hochsprung had written a letter earlier this year outlining new safety measures - including locked doors during school hours.

The 47-year-old principal was described by a local councillor as having "an extremely likable style".

She had been head at Sandy Hook Elementary since 2010, and frequently tweeted photos from her job and wrote upbeat tweets about what was going on at the school, he said.

Tragically, Ms Hochsprung buzzed Lanza into the school, bypassing the newly-installed security system, because she recognised him as the son of Nancy Lanza.

Lanza attended Newtown High School, and local news clippings from recent years mention his name among the school's honour roll students.

State police said 18 children were found dead at the school and two died later in hospital. Six adults - including the gunman - were found dead at the scene.

They said the shootings occurred in one section of the school but did not give details.

In New Jersey, Lanza's older brother Ryan, 24, of Hoboken, told investigators his brother was believed to suffer from a personality disorder and be "somewhat autistic".

Three guns were found at the scene of the massacre. Detectives suggested they might have belonged to Ms Lanza.

Hundreds of people attended a church vigil in Connecticut last night to remember the victims of the shooting.

With the St Rose of Lima church in Newtown filled to capacity, hundreds of people stood outside, some holding hands in circles and saying prayers, while others lit candles and sang Silent Night.

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Connecticut school shooting: Evidence for gunman's motive found

Police have found clues at the crime scenes at Sandy Hook Elementary School and a second scene, believed to be suspect Adam Lanza's home where his mum was found dead

Evidence has been found that could help explain the motives of the lone gunman behind one of the worst mass school shootings in American history, police said.

Officers found evidence at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children and six adults were shot and killed, and at a second crime scene where a woman was found dead, Lt Paul Vance told a press conference.

The gunman is believed to be 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who killed his mother Nancy at their home before going on the rampage at the school, although Lt Vance refused to confirm the gunman's identity.

"Our investigators at the crime scene, the school and secondarily at the secondary crime scene we discussed where the female was located deceased, did produce some very good evidence in this investigation that our investigators will be able to use in hopefully painting the complete picture as to how and more importantly why this occurred," he said.

He also revealed the gunman forced his way into the school.

Lt Vance added: "It is believed he was not voluntarily let into the school at all, that he forced his way into the school but that is as far as we can go on that."

Lanza shot dead 18 children aged between five and 10 and six adults at the school where his mother Nancy was a teacher, before killing himself. Two other children shot at the scene died in hospital later.

Lt Vance said that the identity of those killed had been confirmed and that they would be released as soon as possible. Those believed dead include principal Dawn Hochsprung, who had been in charge since 2010.

In New Jersey, Lanza's older brother Ryan, 24, of Hoboken, told investigators his brother was believed to suffer from a personality disorder and be "somewhat autistic".

Hundreds of people attended a church vigil in Connecticut on Friday night to remember the victims of the shooting. With the St Rose of Lima church in Newtown filled to capacity, hundreds of people stood outside, some holding hands in circles and saying prayers. State governor Dannel P Malloy was among the speakers at the service.

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Adam Lanza identified as Connecticut school shooting suspect - FACEBOOK MYSTERY (VIDEO,PHOTOS)

The 20-year-old killer who went into a Connecticut elementary school had a troubled past and few friends.  That was part of an emerging portrait of the man who killed 20 children and at least six adults, including his mother, before taking his own life.

Adam Lanza lived with his mother in and reportedly suffered from a personality disorder.

A law enforcement source told Fox 5 News that Lanza killed his mother, Nancy Lanza in her kindergarten classroom.

Police were investigating another body found in the family's Sandy Hook home.  The identity of that victim had not been released.

Adam Lanza had another brother, 24-year-old Ryan, of Hoboken, N.J.  He was mistakenly reported to be the killer.

Police say that Lanza drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown in his mother's car.

Three guns were found at the scene - a Glock and a Sig Sauer, both pistols, inside the school, and a .223-caliber rifle in the back of a car.

Fox 5's Ti-Hau Chang cited a law enforcement source that Lanza came into the school wearing black clothing over a bullet proof vest.  Chang reported that Lanza might have been mistaken for a member of the clergy and allowed into the school.

A law enforcement official who said Adam Lanza had a possible personality disorder said Ryan Lanza had been extremely cooperative, was not believed to have any involvement in the rampage and was not under arrest or in custody, but investigators were still searching his computers and phone records. Ryan Lanza told law enforcement he had not been in touch with his brother since about 2010.

Police did not release any motive for the killings.

Facebook Mystery

 

There is a frenzy of confusion surrounding the two brothers at the center of today’s elementary school shooting. Unconfirmed Facebook photos of a person named Ryan Lanza have circulated widely on the internet, but Gawker reports that the photos might be of the wrong Ryan Lanza. While reports pour in and the real picture of what happened is being put together, here are the facts that we do know:

600 students, 50 faculty in Sandy Hook Elementary School at around 9:40 AM when the gunman entered the building.

The gunman, suspected to be Adam Lanza, opened fire inside Connecticut elementary school, killing 26 people, including 20 children. Deaths include the school principle, the school psychologist, the shooter and four other adults.

Calls started going in to 911 by 9:41 AM

The shooter, suspected to be Adam Lanza, died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds inside the school.

The AP confirms the suspect is Adam Lanza, 20, the son of a teacher at the school where the shootings occurred, a law enforcement official said Friday. Police initially misidentified the suspect as his older brother, Ryan Lanza, who is now in custody.

At least three weapons were found inside the school, including a .223 Bushmaster assault rifle, a Glock and Sig Sauer handgun. The shooter was reportedly wearing a mask, a bulletproof vest and dark clothing.

Facebook photo of a Ryan Lanza, with ties to Hoboken, N.J., and Newtown, Conn., emerges:

Ryan Lanza has a Facebook page that posted updates Friday afternoon that read that “it wasn’t me” and “I was at work.” Followed by radio silence.

A second law enforcement official says the boy’s mother, Nancy Lanza, who was a kindergarten teacher at the school, was found dead at her home.

Police surrounded a Hoboken, N.J., apartment on Grand St., where the alleged shooter’s older brother lived, and took him into custody.

Adam Lanza’s girlfriend and another friend are missing in New Jersey.

Adam Lanza’s older brother, Ryan, 24, of Hoboken, N.J., is being questioned by police, who initially and mistakingly identified him as the suspect.

Apparently, Adam Lanza’s mother, who was killed, had had a dispute with her son prior to the shooting.

President Obama gives tearful address and orders all flags at half-mast:

Connecticut State Police have “tentatively identified” gunman, but are not prepared to make an official statement.

Police say one person who was injured survived, the Vice Principal of the school.

Sources state that all three weapons were registered to the mother of Adam Lanza, Nancy Lanza.

There is speculation about mental state of the gunman.

CT Governor Malloy addresses media in Newtown, CT, says “Evil visited this community today,” and “We’ll get through this.”

Authorities confirm gunman is Adam Lanza. Ryan Lanza, his brother, questioned in Hoboken, N.J. No indication he’s considered a suspect.

RYOT NOTE: There are no words to describe this terrible tragedy. These families will need help. Please considering donating to the Sandy Hook Elementary School Victims Relief Fund to support this devastated community.

LIVE UPDATES: Connecticut school shooting - 27 killed, including 20 children (PHOTOS)

A gunman has gone on a shooting spree in a Connecticut elementary school, killing at least 26 people, among them 20 children in what has become one of the deadliest shootings in US history.

Dec. 14, 18:30 ET: Guns used in Connecticut school rampage were legally purchased and registered to the suspected shooter's mother, law enforcement officials told NBC News.

  

Dec. 14, 18:10 ET:  "Evil visited this community today," Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy told reporters in Newtown. "We'll do whatever we can to overcome this event. We will get through it. But this is a terrible time for this community and these families."

Dec. 14, 18:03 ET: In a message of condolence to US President Obama, British Queen Elizabeth II said she was "deeply shocked and saddened" by the shootings in Connecticut, BBC reports.

Dec. 14, 17:20 ET: The suspected shooter, Adam Lanza, is autistic, or has aspergers syndrome and a “personality disorder,” his elder brother Adam Lanza told authorities, ABC reports.

Dec. 14, 17:03 ET: One person was injured in Connecticut school shooting, police say.

Dec. 14, 16:56 ET:

A Glock and a Sig Sauer pistols belonging to the gunman were found inside the school, a law enforcement official told AP on condition of anonymity. Also, a .223-caliber rifle was found in the back of Nancy Lanza’s car, which her son used to drive to the school.

Dec. 14, 16:50 ET: The total death toll in Connecticut stands at 28, police say. This includes 20 children and six adults killed at the school, the suspected attacker and an adult victim at the second scene in Connecticut.

Dec. 14, 16:21 ET: A law enforcement official has confirmed that the suspect in the Connecticut school shootings is 20-year-old Adam Lanza – AP. His brother, Ryan Lanza is being questioned by police. Nancy Lanza, a teacher at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, has been identified as his mother – WCBS-TV.

Dec. 14, 16:18 ET: Investigators believe the mother was the suspect’s primary target, but its thought to have come with clear intention of mass killing, CNN says.

Dec. 14, 16:10 ET: Law officials confirm that the Connecticut school shooting suspect is a 20-year-old son of a teacher – AP.

 Dec. 14, 16:04 ET: The shooting suspect is no longer identified as Ryan Lanza, CNN says. The attacker could have been carrying his older brother's ID, according to NBC News. Police however have not yet released the suspect's identity

Dec. 14, 15:51 ET: Twenty children and six adults pronounced dead at school, area, Connecticut police say.

Dec. 14, 15:41 ET: Connecticut Governor Malloy: "Perpetrator of crime is dead, as is a person perpetrator lived."

Dec. 14, 15:30 ET:  President Obama said the country's leaders must "take meaningful action" regardless of politics, in response to the mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school. The president had apparent difficulty speaking and used his index finger to wipe at the corner of his eyes.

Dec. 14, 15:23 ET: The younger brother of the suspect in the Connecticut shooting is being held for questioning, as a possible second shooter, AP quoted a law enforcement official as saying.

Dec. 14, 15:20 ET: "While nothing can fill the space of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those of us in need" – Obama said in an emotional statement on the Connecticut school shooting.

Dec. 14, 15:17 ET: President Obama: "Our hearts are broken today."

Dec. 14, 15:12 ET: Robert Licata told the AP his son aged just 6 was in class when the gunman burst in and shot the teacher. "That's when my son grabbed a bunch of his friends and ran out the door," he said. The shooter didn't say a word, Licata added.

Dec. 14, 15:09 ET:  Flags on Capitol Hill have been ordered to be flown at half staff through sunset on December 18.

Dec. 14, 15:00 ET:  SIG and Glock pistols were found at Sandy Hook Elementary School, while a Bushmaster rifle was found in the suspect's vehicle, law enforcement officials tell WCBS-TV.

Dec. 14, 14:57 ET: The suspect's younger brother has been held – AP source.

Dec. 14, 14:51 ET: President Obama to make a statement about the Newtown school shooting at 15:15 ET (20:15 GMT). This will be followed shortly by Gov. Malloy's press conference.

Dec. 14, 14:43 ET: The shooting happened quickly and happened in a concentrated area, police tell CNN.

Dec. 14, 14:37 ET: Many of the victims appear to be the students of the suspected gunman's mother – WCBS-TV.

Dec. 14, 14:26 ET: All public and private schools in Newtown are on lockdown.

Dec. 14, 14:23 ET: The suspected gunman's mother, Nancy Lanza, was a teacher at the elementary school, reports CBS News. She is among those killed.

Dec. 14, 14:22 ET: CNN quoting a law enforcement official: The suspect is named Ryan Lanza, 24.

Dec. 14, 14:15 ET: Child victims were aged 5-10.

Dec. 14, 14:11 ET: NBC: A parent of the suspected shooter has been found dead at a home in New Jersey.

Dec. 14, 14:10 ET:

The death toll in the Newtown school shooting is approaching 30, a source tells CNN. Most of them are children.

Dec. 14, 14:06 ET: The suspected shooter might have murdered someone else before going to the elementary school, a new report by CBS News suggests. A dead body has been found in his house.

Dec. 14, 13:54 ET: The suspected shooter was armed with four weapons. He was wearing a bullet proof vest – WABC.

Dec. 14, 13:49 ET: President Barack Obama is receiving updates on the incident, will comment later in the day.

Dec. 14, 13:44 ET: "The scene is secure. Public is not in danger", Conn. State Police's Lt. Vance told a press conference in the wake of the shooting. However, he only confirmed "several fatalities, both students and staff" and "the shooter is deceased inside the school building." The death toll will be released after all the affected families are notified.

Dec. 14, 13:40 ET: Connecticut Gov. Malloy is now meeting with the families, Connecticut Governor’s senior adviser Roy Occhiogrosso said at a press conference.

Dec. 14, 13:31 ET: Children had to hide in the school's gym until the police came to pick them up and take to the firehouse. Parents continue picking up their kids from the designated safe zone, reveals CNN.

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Bartholomew takes Turkish newspaper editor on a tour of Halki

 

The Greek Orthodox community in Turkey is now exploring legal options to force the government to reopen the Halki Seminary, according to Murat Yetkin, editor-in-chief of the Hurriyet Daily News, who was recently hosted on a tour of the school by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

Yetkin, who visited the seminary with the patriarch, also said this is “likely to be an issue in Turkey’s relations with the European Union following the current six month EU presidency of Greek Cyprus, which Turkey refuses to recognize”.

The Greek Orthodox theological school near Istanbul was closed to new students in 1971. Its reopening has been a long-standing demand by Greece and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, head of the Greek Church and the spiritual leader of the world’s 250 million Orthodox Christians.

“Inside, the classrooms, the restrooms, the dispenser and the tennis table are all ready for use as soon as the Turkish government will authorize a local education director of Istanbul,” writes Yetkin. “The legal and financial framework is ready too.”

Elpidophoros Lambriniadis, the Metropolitan of Bursa, has been tapped to be the dean of the seminary, if and when it is opened. He is also seen as Bartholomew’s most likely successor. 

The Halki Seminary was designed to train Orthodox priests. It was forced to close its doors when Turkey’s constitutional court ordered all private universities to shut down. 

“We have paid the political bill of the Cyprus conflict,” said Bartholomew. “We paid the bill of claimed wrongdoings against Muslims of Western Thrace in Greece. Now [Turkish] Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is mentioning a mosque in Athens. I have no objection to that, but neither have I any authority to do that.”

Bartholomew, who is the 270th successor of the 2,000 year-old local Christian Church founded by St. Andrew, said he is running out of patience. He said that soon there will be no Turkish-born and trained Greek priests left to keep churches alive in the country.

“So far, the government said that public opinion and the opposition parties would not let it happen,” the 72-year-old patriarch said. “But now there is no visible public reaction to the reopening of the seminary.” 

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