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Bellingham Herald
April 12 2015
Turkey recalls Vatican envoy after pope cites Armenian genocide
By ALVISE ARMELLINI AND SHABTAI GOLD, DPA
VATICAN CITY_ Armenians were the victims of "the first genocide of the
20th century," Pope Francis said Sunday, prompting Turkey to recall
its Vatican ambassador home to Ankara.
Similar remarks from the Catholic leadership in the past have
triggered protests from Turkey, which denies that the mass deportation
of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I was genocide.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million people were killed.
"In the past century, our human family has lived through three massive
and unprecedented tragedies," Francis said at the start of a
remembrance mass in St Peter's Basilica for the 1915-16 mass slaughter
of the Armenians.
"The first, which is widely considered the first genocide of the 20th
century, struck your own Armenian people, the first Christian nation,
as well as Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans and
Greeks," Francis said.
The pope said the other two genocides of the last century "were
perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism" and went on to say the world is
in the midst of another genocide, the persecution of Christians in the
Middle East.
The leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Supreme Patriarch Karekin
II, thanked the pope at the end an the elaborate service.
"The Armenian genocide is an unforgettable and undeniable fact of
history, deeply rooted in the annals of modern history and in the
common consciousness of the Armenian people. Therefore, any attempt to
erase it from history and from our common memory is doomed to fail,"
Karekin said.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan also attended the mass at the Vatican.
"With these celebrations in St Peter's, the Holy Father has sent a
vigorous signal to the international community," namely "that
uncondemned genocides represent a danger for all of humanity," he told
Italian news agency ANSA.
"It is the responsibility not only of the Armenian people and the
universal Church to recall all that has taken place, but of the entire
human family," Francis said in a written message delivered to Armenian
religious and political leaders after mass.
Turkey, the successor state to the Ottoman Empire, says both Turks and
Armenians were killed during the war and accuses Armenia of inflating
the number of people who died. The deportations were said to be for
security reasons.
It is not the first time that the Vatican has used the word "genocide"
to describe the events of 100 years ago.
On Sunday, the pope quoted a joint 2000 declaration from his
predecessor, John Paul II.
At the time, the Turkish Foreign Ministry criticized the papal remarks
as "unacceptable" and warned the Vatican against "making steps that
could have irreparable consequences on our ties."
"What is expected from the papacy, under the responsibility of its
spiritual office, is to contribute to world peace instead of raising
animosity over historical events," the ministry said.
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2015/04/12/4237172_turkey-recalls-vatican-envoy-after.html?rh=1
April 12 2015
Turkey recalls Vatican envoy after pope cites Armenian genocide
By ALVISE ARMELLINI AND SHABTAI GOLD, DPA
VATICAN CITY_ Armenians were the victims of "the first genocide of the
20th century," Pope Francis said Sunday, prompting Turkey to recall
its Vatican ambassador home to Ankara.
Similar remarks from the Catholic leadership in the past have
triggered protests from Turkey, which denies that the mass deportation
of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I was genocide.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million people were killed.
"In the past century, our human family has lived through three massive
and unprecedented tragedies," Francis said at the start of a
remembrance mass in St Peter's Basilica for the 1915-16 mass slaughter
of the Armenians.
"The first, which is widely considered the first genocide of the 20th
century, struck your own Armenian people, the first Christian nation,
as well as Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans and
Greeks," Francis said.
The pope said the other two genocides of the last century "were
perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism" and went on to say the world is
in the midst of another genocide, the persecution of Christians in the
Middle East.
The leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Supreme Patriarch Karekin
II, thanked the pope at the end an the elaborate service.
"The Armenian genocide is an unforgettable and undeniable fact of
history, deeply rooted in the annals of modern history and in the
common consciousness of the Armenian people. Therefore, any attempt to
erase it from history and from our common memory is doomed to fail,"
Karekin said.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan also attended the mass at the Vatican.
"With these celebrations in St Peter's, the Holy Father has sent a
vigorous signal to the international community," namely "that
uncondemned genocides represent a danger for all of humanity," he told
Italian news agency ANSA.
"It is the responsibility not only of the Armenian people and the
universal Church to recall all that has taken place, but of the entire
human family," Francis said in a written message delivered to Armenian
religious and political leaders after mass.
Turkey, the successor state to the Ottoman Empire, says both Turks and
Armenians were killed during the war and accuses Armenia of inflating
the number of people who died. The deportations were said to be for
security reasons.
It is not the first time that the Vatican has used the word "genocide"
to describe the events of 100 years ago.
On Sunday, the pope quoted a joint 2000 declaration from his
predecessor, John Paul II.
At the time, the Turkish Foreign Ministry criticized the papal remarks
as "unacceptable" and warned the Vatican against "making steps that
could have irreparable consequences on our ties."
"What is expected from the papacy, under the responsibility of its
spiritual office, is to contribute to world peace instead of raising
animosity over historical events," the ministry said.
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2015/04/12/4237172_turkey-recalls-vatican-envoy-after.html?rh=1