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April 12 2015
Pope Francis Angers Turkey With Armenian 'Genocide' Remark
By Reuters 4/12/15 at 1:37 PM
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis sparked a diplomatic row on
Sunday by calling the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians 100
years ago "the first genocide of the 20th century," prompting Turkey
to accuse him of inciting hatred.
Muslim Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians died in clashes
with Ottoman soldiers beginning in 1915, when Armenia was part of the
empire ruled from Istanbul, but denies hundreds of thousands were
killed and that this amounted to genocide.
At an Armenian rite Mass in St. Peter's Basilica to mark the 100th
anniversary of the killings, Francis became the first head of the
Roman Catholic Church to publicly pronounce the word "genocide" to
describe them.
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Some European and South American countries use the term to describe
the killings, but the United States and some others, keen to maintain
good relations with an important ally, avoid doing so.
Turkey was swift to protest. "The pope's statements, which are far
from historical and judicial facts, cannot be accepted," Foreign
Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on his Twitter account.
"Religious offices are not places to incite hatred and revenge with
baseless accusations," he said.
The foreign ministry called its ambassador to the Holy See back to
Ankara, and summoned the Vatican's ambassador, saying Francis's
remarks had caused a "problem of trust" in diplomatic relations.
Pope John Paul II and Armenian Apostolic Church Supreme Patriarch
Kerekin II called the massacre "the first genocide of the 20th
century" in 2001, but that was in a joint written statement.
Francis, who has disregarded many aspects of protocol since becoming
pope two years ago, uttered the phrase during a private meeting at the
Vatican with an Armenian delegation in 2013, prompting a strong
protest from Ankara.
As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio had already
publicly described the killings as genocide before he was elected
leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics in 2013.
In November, the Argentine-born pontiff made an official visit to
Turkey as part of his efforts to strengthen relations with moderate
Muslim states.
DENYING EVIL
At the start of the commemorative Mass, the pope described the
"senseless slaughter" of 100 years ago as "the first genocide of the
20th century" and noted it was followed by Nazism and Stalinism.
"It is necessary, and indeed a duty, to honor their memory, for
whenever memory fades, it means that evil allows wounds to fester.
Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it!" he said.
Francis's comments were also published by Armenian President Serzh
Sarksyan's office on Sunday.
"We are deeply grateful to His Holiness Pope Francis for the idea of
this unprecedented liturgy...which symbolizes our solidarity with the
people of the Christian world," Sarksyan said in a speech at a Vatican
dinner on Saturday evening.
The pope said genocide continues today against Christians "who, on
account of their faith in Christ or their ethnic origin, are publicly
and ruthlessly put to death--decapitated, crucified, burned alive--or
forced to leave their homeland."
Islamic State insurgents have persecuted Shi'ite Muslims, Christians
and others who do not share their ultra-radical brand of Sunni Islam
as they carved a self-declared caliphate out of swathes of Syria and
Iraq, which share borders with Turkey.
Francis also urged reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia, and
between Armenia andAzerbaijan over the disputed Caucasus mountain
region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The appeal came in a letter handed out
during a meeting after the Mass to Sarksyan and the three most
important Armenian church leaders present.
http://www.newsweek.com/pope-angers-turkey-genocide-remark-321783
April 12 2015
Pope Francis Angers Turkey With Armenian 'Genocide' Remark
By Reuters 4/12/15 at 1:37 PM
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis sparked a diplomatic row on
Sunday by calling the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians 100
years ago "the first genocide of the 20th century," prompting Turkey
to accuse him of inciting hatred.
Muslim Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians died in clashes
with Ottoman soldiers beginning in 1915, when Armenia was part of the
empire ruled from Istanbul, but denies hundreds of thousands were
killed and that this amounted to genocide.
At an Armenian rite Mass in St. Peter's Basilica to mark the 100th
anniversary of the killings, Francis became the first head of the
Roman Catholic Church to publicly pronounce the word "genocide" to
describe them.
Try Newsweek for only $1.25 per week
Some European and South American countries use the term to describe
the killings, but the United States and some others, keen to maintain
good relations with an important ally, avoid doing so.
Turkey was swift to protest. "The pope's statements, which are far
from historical and judicial facts, cannot be accepted," Foreign
Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on his Twitter account.
"Religious offices are not places to incite hatred and revenge with
baseless accusations," he said.
The foreign ministry called its ambassador to the Holy See back to
Ankara, and summoned the Vatican's ambassador, saying Francis's
remarks had caused a "problem of trust" in diplomatic relations.
Pope John Paul II and Armenian Apostolic Church Supreme Patriarch
Kerekin II called the massacre "the first genocide of the 20th
century" in 2001, but that was in a joint written statement.
Francis, who has disregarded many aspects of protocol since becoming
pope two years ago, uttered the phrase during a private meeting at the
Vatican with an Armenian delegation in 2013, prompting a strong
protest from Ankara.
As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio had already
publicly described the killings as genocide before he was elected
leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics in 2013.
In November, the Argentine-born pontiff made an official visit to
Turkey as part of his efforts to strengthen relations with moderate
Muslim states.
DENYING EVIL
At the start of the commemorative Mass, the pope described the
"senseless slaughter" of 100 years ago as "the first genocide of the
20th century" and noted it was followed by Nazism and Stalinism.
"It is necessary, and indeed a duty, to honor their memory, for
whenever memory fades, it means that evil allows wounds to fester.
Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it!" he said.
Francis's comments were also published by Armenian President Serzh
Sarksyan's office on Sunday.
"We are deeply grateful to His Holiness Pope Francis for the idea of
this unprecedented liturgy...which symbolizes our solidarity with the
people of the Christian world," Sarksyan said in a speech at a Vatican
dinner on Saturday evening.
The pope said genocide continues today against Christians "who, on
account of their faith in Christ or their ethnic origin, are publicly
and ruthlessly put to death--decapitated, crucified, burned alive--or
forced to leave their homeland."
Islamic State insurgents have persecuted Shi'ite Muslims, Christians
and others who do not share their ultra-radical brand of Sunni Islam
as they carved a self-declared caliphate out of swathes of Syria and
Iraq, which share borders with Turkey.
Francis also urged reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia, and
between Armenia andAzerbaijan over the disputed Caucasus mountain
region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The appeal came in a letter handed out
during a meeting after the Mass to Sarksyan and the three most
important Armenian church leaders present.
http://www.newsweek.com/pope-angers-turkey-genocide-remark-321783