BY WILL GORE

CARDINAL Cormac MurphyO'Connor has questioned whether Turkey should be admitted to the European Union.
Speaking on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, he suggested that the predominantly Muslim state was culturally distinct from Europe and would not integrate easily into the Christian continent.
The Cardinal challenged the position of the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who has consistently argued for Turkey's accession to the EU on the grounds that its exclusion would be damaging.
"There may be a view that the mixture of cultures is not a good idea," the Cardinal said.
"The question is for Europe: will the admission of Turkey to the EU be something that benefits a proper dialogue or integration of a large, predom
inantly Islamic country in a continent that, fundamentally.1 is Christian?"
Lord Carey of Clifton, the fonner Archbishop of Canterbury, joined the Cardinal in expressing reservations about ' Turkey joining the EU.
He said: "I think the jury is still out on Turkey at the moment. 1 look at its record on freedom of speech and so on, what it is doing to writers in Turkey who want to speak out, and some of them are in jail.
"1 don't write them out of the action but I think there are questions to be pushed."
Opinion among European leaders has been divided on the issue. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, met Pope Benedict in August. She said that "Christian values" should be at the heart of the EU constitution.
"My opinion is that we need a European identity in the form of a constitutional treaty and I think it should be connected to Christianity and God, as Christianity has forged Europe in a decisive way," she said.
However, speaking at the Trades Union Congress conference in Brighton earlier this month Mr Blair stated his support for Turkey 's accession.
He said: "A denial of membership, even if Turkey were to meet the membership criteria, would be a seismic decision, with consequences far beyond Europe, for obvious reasons. If we lose negotiations on the enlargement issue, we would pay for its consequences in the long term."
Thrkey's population is 99.8 per cent Muslim . Although the country has a strong tradition of secularism and the state has no official religion, restrictions remain on the practise of Christianity.
Turkey originally applied to join the EU in 1987. Obsta des, including the country's refusal to acknowledge Cyprus and its poor human rights record, have meant that so far Turkey's attempts to join the EU have proved unsuccessful.
In the past 10 years Turkey has undertaken reforms to improve its human rights record and strengthen its democracy. Last year, it was able to begin accession talks with the European Union.
Months before his election as Pope Benedict XVI the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger expressed grave doubts over the wisdom of allowing Turkey to join the European Union, citing cultural and religious differences. Since his election, the Vatican has made clear that it is neutral on the question of Turkey's EU membership.
The United States and NATO, of which Turkey is a member, are both in favour of Turkey joining the EU.