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New York Recorder
April 12 2015
Pope Francis says: The first genocide of the 20th century
Armenian 'genocide' be or not? Papa, vatikan and Turkish.. Turkey
summons Vatican envoy after Pope describes Armenian 'genocide'. Pope
defends his pronouncement by saying it is his duty to honor the memory
of the innocent men, women, children, priests and bishops who were
'senselessly' murdered.
REUTERS - Turkey told the Vatican's ambassador on Sunday it was
"deeply sorry and disappointed" that Pope Francis had called the 1915
mass killings in Armenia a genocide, an official said, adding the
pope's comments had caused a "problem of trust".
The pope made the comments earlier in the day during a Mass marking
the 100th anniversary of the killings.
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.
Pope calls WWI slaughter of Armenians 'genocide'
AP lead Pope Francis, left, is greeted by the head of Armenia's
Orthodox Church Karekin II, during an Armenian-Rite Mass on the
occasion of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 12,
2015. Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed
by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely
viewed by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Turkey however denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying the
toll has been inflated, and that those killed were victims of civil
war and unrest. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Francis uttered the word "genocide" on Sunday to describe the
mass murder of Armenians 100 years ago in a move likely to anger
Turkey.
"In the past century our human family has lived through three massive
and unprecedented tragedies," he said during a solemn mass in Saint
Peter's Basilica to mark the centenary of the Ottoman killings of
Armenians.
"The first, which is widely considered 'the first genocide of the 20th
century', struck your own Armenian people," he said, quoting a
statement signed by Pope John Paul II and the Armenian patriarch in
2001.
Pope sparks Turkish ire by referring to Armenian 'genocide' on
centenary of slaughter
Turkey says that it has conveyed loss of trust in relations with the
Vatican after Pope Francis honoured the 100th anniversary of the
slaughter of Armenians by calling it "the first genocide of the 20th
century" and urging the international community to recognize it as
such.
Turkey, which has long denied a genocide took place, immediately
summoned the Vatican ambassador to express its displeasure.
In a statement following the meeting, Turkey said that the Pope's
message had contradicted his message of peace and dialogue during a
visit to Turkey in November. It said that a response would be
forthcoming. The Foreign Ministry said that it had expressed "great
disappointment and sadness."
The statement also called the Pope's message discriminatory because he
only mentioned the pains suffered by Christian Armenians and not
Muslims and other religious groups.
Francis, who has close ties to the Armenian community from his days in
Argentina, defended his pronouncement by saying it was his duty to
honour the memory of the innocent men, women, children, priests and
bishops who were "senselessly" murdered by Ottoman Turks.
"Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it," he said at the start of a Mass Sunday in the
Armenian Catholic rite in St. Peter's Basilica honouring the
centenary.
In a subsequent message directed to all Armenians, Francis called on
all heads of state and international organizations to recognize the
truth of what transpired and oppose such crimes "without ceding to
ambiguity or compromise."
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Turkey, however, refuses to call it a genocide and has insisted that
the toll has been inflated, and that those killed were victims of
civil war and unrest. It has fiercely lobbied to prevent countries,
including the Holy See, from officially recognizing the Armenian
massacre as genocide.
Turkey's embassy to the Holy See cancelled a planned news conference
for Sunday, presumably after learning that the pope would utter the
word "genocide" over its objections. Requests for comment went
unanswered and there was no official word Sunday from the government
in Ankara.
Francis' words had immediate effect in St. Peters, bolstering the head
of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Aram I, to thank Francis for his
clear condemnation and recall that "genocide" is a crime against
humanity that requires reparation.
"International law spells out clearly that condemnation, recognition
and reparation of a genocide are closely interconnected," Aram said in
English at the end of the Mass to applause from the pews.
Speaking as if he were at a political rally, Aram said the Armenian
cause is a cause of justice, and that justice is a gift of God.
"Therefore, the violation of justice is a sin against God," he said.
The pope's declaration prompted mixed reactions in the streets in
Istanbul. Some said they supported it, but others did not agree.
"I don't support the word genocide being used by a great religious
figure who has many followers," said Mucahit Yucedal, 25. "Genocide is
a serious allegation."
Several European countries recognize the massacres as genocide, though
Italy and the United States, for example, have avoided using the term
officially given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally.
The Holy See, too, places great importance in its relationship with
the moderate Muslim nation, especially as it demands Muslim leaders
condemn the slaughter of Christians by Muslim extremists in
neighbouring Iraq and Syria.
But Francis' willingness to rile Ankara with his words showed once
again that he has few qualms about taking diplomatic risks for issues
close to his heart. He took a similar risk by inviting the Israeli and
Palestinian presidents to pray together for peace at the Vatican - a
summit that was followed by the outbreak of fighting in the Gaza
Strip.
Francis is not the first pope to call the massacre a genocide. In his
remarks, Francis cited a 2001 declaration signed by St. John Paul II
and the Armenian church leader, Karenkin II, which said the deaths
were considered "the first genocide of the 20th century."
Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, whose ties with Turkey and the Muslim
world were initially strained, avoided using the "g-word" during his
pontificate.
The context of Francis' pronunciation was significant: He uttered the
words during an Armenian rite Mass in St. Peter's Basilica marking the
100th anniversary of the slaughter, alongside the Armenian Catholic
patriarch, Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Armenian Christian church
leaders and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who sat in a place of
honour in the basilica.
While Francis was archbishop of Buenos Aires, the former Cardinal
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was particularly close to the Armenian community
and he referred to the Armenian "genocide" on several occasions.
The definition of genocide has long been contentious. The United
Nations in 1948 defined genocide as killing and other acts intended to
destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, but many
dispute which mass killings should be called genocide.
In his remarks Sunday, Francis said the Armenian slaughter was the
first of three "massive and unprecedented" genocides last century that
was followed by the Holocaust and Stalinism. He said other mass
killings had followed, including in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and
Bosnia.
"It seems that the human family has refused to learn from its mistakes
caused by the law of terror, so that today too there are those who
attempt to eliminate others with the help of a few and with the
complicit silence of others who simply stand by," he said.
Francis has frequently denounced the "complicit silence" of the world
community in the face of the modern-day slaughter of Christians and
other religious minorities by Islamic extremists.
During Sunday's Mass, Francis also honoured the Armenian community at
the start of the Mass by pronouncing a 10th-century Armenian mystic,
St. Gregory of Narek, a doctor of the church. Only 35 people have been
given the title, which is reserved for those whose writings have
greatly served the universal church.
The Mass was rich in traditional Armenian music, with haunting hymns
used at key points. Children dressed in traditional costumes presented
the gifts at the altar, which was bathed in a cloud of incense.
Many historians describe the slaughter as the 20th century's first
genocide, but Turkey hotly denies the accusation.
Turkey has summoned the Vatican's ambassador in Ankara over the pope's
comments, a senior official told Reuters on Sunday.
Turkey, which has yet to make an official statement on Pope Francis'
comments, summoned the ambassador to protest over the description of
the events as "genocide", the official said, declining to be
identified.
While Francis did not use his own words to describe the murders as
genocide, it was the first time the term was spoken aloud in
connection with Armenia by a head of the Roman Catholic Church in
Saint Peter's Basilica.
"It was a very courageous act to repeat clearly that it was a
genocide," Vatican expert Marco Tosatti told AFP.
"By quoting John Paul II he strengthened the Church's position, making
it clear where it stands on the issue," he added.
The Argentine pope described the "immense and senseless slaughter" and
spoke of the duty to "honour their memory, for whenever memory fades,
it means that evil allows wounds to fester."
The 78-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church had been under
pressure to use the term "genocide" publicly to describe the
slaughter, despite the risk of alienating an important ally in the
fight against radical Islam.
Before becoming pope, Jorge Bergoglio used the word several times in
events marking the mass murders, calling on Turkey to recognise the
killings as such, according to religious news agency I. Media.
As pope, Francis is said to have used it once during a private
audience in 2013 -- but even that sparked an outraged reaction from
Turkey.
Vatican expert John Allen said ahead of the mass that the "truly bold"
thing for Francis to do was "show restraint" -- something the pope may
feel he has achieved by uttering the word "genocide" but only while
quoting his Polish predecessor.
When Francis visited Turkey in November, President Recep Erdogan
offered the pontiff a pact under which he would defend Christians in
the Middle East in exchange for the Church tackling Islamophobia in
the West, Allen said -- describing it as "a potential game-changer."
In 2014, Erdogan, then premier, offered condolences for the mass
killings for the first time, but the country still blames unrest and
famine for many of the deaths.
Francis said the other two genocides of the 20th century were
"perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism", before pointing to more recent
mass killings in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia.
"It seems that humanity is incapable of putting a halt to the shedding
of innocent blood," he said.
Those murdered a century ago were mainly Christian and although the
killings were not openly driven by religious motives, the pontiff drew
comparisons with modern Christian refugees fleeing militants.
He referred once again to the modern day as "a time of war, a third
world war which is being fought piecemeal", and evoked the "muffled
and forgotten cry" of those "decapitated, crucified, burnt alive, or
forced to leave their homeland."
"Today too we are experiencing a sort of genocide created by general
and collective indifference," he said.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915
and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, and have long sought
to win international recognition of the massacres as genocide.
But Turkey rejects the claims, arguing that 300,000 to 500,000
Armenians and as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose
up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian
troops.
More than 20 nations, including France and Russia, recognise the
killings as genocide.
The pope pointed to Armenia's particular importance as "the first
Christian nation", being the first country to adopt Christianity as
its state religion in 301 AD.
Francis, who has close ties to the Armenian community from his days in
Argentina, defended his pronouncement by saying it was his duty to
honor the memory of the innocent men, women, children, priests and
bishops who were "senselessly" murdered.
Turkey's embassy to the Holy See had canceled a planned press
conference for Sunday, presumably after learning that the pope would
utter the word "genocide" over its objections.
This was not the first time that the Pope has spoken out over the
Armenia genocide. In 2013, at a meeting with Catholicos Patriarch of
Cilicia of the Armenian Catholics at the Vatican, he declared: "The
first genocide of the 20th century was that of the Armenians."
In 2006, before he became pontiff, he urged Turkey to recognize the
genocide as the "gravest crime of Ottoman Turkey against the Armenian
people and the entire humanity."
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Several European countries recognize the massacres as genocide, though
Italy and the United States have avoided using the term officially
given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally.
Tristan Gerrard
Journalist and Writer, Guest writer in many technology and politics
blogs and news sites. Graduated from New York City University in
Computer Technologies Engineering and working in a multiglobal company
valley now.
http://www.heraldrecorder.org/breaking/pope-francis-says-the-first-genocide-of-the-20th-century-2015521.html
April 12 2015
Pope Francis says: The first genocide of the 20th century
Armenian 'genocide' be or not? Papa, vatikan and Turkish.. Turkey
summons Vatican envoy after Pope describes Armenian 'genocide'. Pope
defends his pronouncement by saying it is his duty to honor the memory
of the innocent men, women, children, priests and bishops who were
'senselessly' murdered.
REUTERS - Turkey told the Vatican's ambassador on Sunday it was
"deeply sorry and disappointed" that Pope Francis had called the 1915
mass killings in Armenia a genocide, an official said, adding the
pope's comments had caused a "problem of trust".
The pope made the comments earlier in the day during a Mass marking
the 100th anniversary of the killings.
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.
Pope calls WWI slaughter of Armenians 'genocide'
AP lead Pope Francis, left, is greeted by the head of Armenia's
Orthodox Church Karekin II, during an Armenian-Rite Mass on the
occasion of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 12,
2015. Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed
by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely
viewed by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Turkey however denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying the
toll has been inflated, and that those killed were victims of civil
war and unrest. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Francis uttered the word "genocide" on Sunday to describe the
mass murder of Armenians 100 years ago in a move likely to anger
Turkey.
"In the past century our human family has lived through three massive
and unprecedented tragedies," he said during a solemn mass in Saint
Peter's Basilica to mark the centenary of the Ottoman killings of
Armenians.
"The first, which is widely considered 'the first genocide of the 20th
century', struck your own Armenian people," he said, quoting a
statement signed by Pope John Paul II and the Armenian patriarch in
2001.
Pope sparks Turkish ire by referring to Armenian 'genocide' on
centenary of slaughter
Turkey says that it has conveyed loss of trust in relations with the
Vatican after Pope Francis honoured the 100th anniversary of the
slaughter of Armenians by calling it "the first genocide of the 20th
century" and urging the international community to recognize it as
such.
Turkey, which has long denied a genocide took place, immediately
summoned the Vatican ambassador to express its displeasure.
In a statement following the meeting, Turkey said that the Pope's
message had contradicted his message of peace and dialogue during a
visit to Turkey in November. It said that a response would be
forthcoming. The Foreign Ministry said that it had expressed "great
disappointment and sadness."
The statement also called the Pope's message discriminatory because he
only mentioned the pains suffered by Christian Armenians and not
Muslims and other religious groups.
Francis, who has close ties to the Armenian community from his days in
Argentina, defended his pronouncement by saying it was his duty to
honour the memory of the innocent men, women, children, priests and
bishops who were "senselessly" murdered by Ottoman Turks.
"Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it," he said at the start of a Mass Sunday in the
Armenian Catholic rite in St. Peter's Basilica honouring the
centenary.
In a subsequent message directed to all Armenians, Francis called on
all heads of state and international organizations to recognize the
truth of what transpired and oppose such crimes "without ceding to
ambiguity or compromise."
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Turkey, however, refuses to call it a genocide and has insisted that
the toll has been inflated, and that those killed were victims of
civil war and unrest. It has fiercely lobbied to prevent countries,
including the Holy See, from officially recognizing the Armenian
massacre as genocide.
Turkey's embassy to the Holy See cancelled a planned news conference
for Sunday, presumably after learning that the pope would utter the
word "genocide" over its objections. Requests for comment went
unanswered and there was no official word Sunday from the government
in Ankara.
Francis' words had immediate effect in St. Peters, bolstering the head
of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Aram I, to thank Francis for his
clear condemnation and recall that "genocide" is a crime against
humanity that requires reparation.
"International law spells out clearly that condemnation, recognition
and reparation of a genocide are closely interconnected," Aram said in
English at the end of the Mass to applause from the pews.
Speaking as if he were at a political rally, Aram said the Armenian
cause is a cause of justice, and that justice is a gift of God.
"Therefore, the violation of justice is a sin against God," he said.
The pope's declaration prompted mixed reactions in the streets in
Istanbul. Some said they supported it, but others did not agree.
"I don't support the word genocide being used by a great religious
figure who has many followers," said Mucahit Yucedal, 25. "Genocide is
a serious allegation."
Several European countries recognize the massacres as genocide, though
Italy and the United States, for example, have avoided using the term
officially given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally.
The Holy See, too, places great importance in its relationship with
the moderate Muslim nation, especially as it demands Muslim leaders
condemn the slaughter of Christians by Muslim extremists in
neighbouring Iraq and Syria.
But Francis' willingness to rile Ankara with his words showed once
again that he has few qualms about taking diplomatic risks for issues
close to his heart. He took a similar risk by inviting the Israeli and
Palestinian presidents to pray together for peace at the Vatican - a
summit that was followed by the outbreak of fighting in the Gaza
Strip.
Francis is not the first pope to call the massacre a genocide. In his
remarks, Francis cited a 2001 declaration signed by St. John Paul II
and the Armenian church leader, Karenkin II, which said the deaths
were considered "the first genocide of the 20th century."
Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, whose ties with Turkey and the Muslim
world were initially strained, avoided using the "g-word" during his
pontificate.
The context of Francis' pronunciation was significant: He uttered the
words during an Armenian rite Mass in St. Peter's Basilica marking the
100th anniversary of the slaughter, alongside the Armenian Catholic
patriarch, Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Armenian Christian church
leaders and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who sat in a place of
honour in the basilica.
While Francis was archbishop of Buenos Aires, the former Cardinal
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was particularly close to the Armenian community
and he referred to the Armenian "genocide" on several occasions.
The definition of genocide has long been contentious. The United
Nations in 1948 defined genocide as killing and other acts intended to
destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, but many
dispute which mass killings should be called genocide.
In his remarks Sunday, Francis said the Armenian slaughter was the
first of three "massive and unprecedented" genocides last century that
was followed by the Holocaust and Stalinism. He said other mass
killings had followed, including in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and
Bosnia.
"It seems that the human family has refused to learn from its mistakes
caused by the law of terror, so that today too there are those who
attempt to eliminate others with the help of a few and with the
complicit silence of others who simply stand by," he said.
Francis has frequently denounced the "complicit silence" of the world
community in the face of the modern-day slaughter of Christians and
other religious minorities by Islamic extremists.
During Sunday's Mass, Francis also honoured the Armenian community at
the start of the Mass by pronouncing a 10th-century Armenian mystic,
St. Gregory of Narek, a doctor of the church. Only 35 people have been
given the title, which is reserved for those whose writings have
greatly served the universal church.
The Mass was rich in traditional Armenian music, with haunting hymns
used at key points. Children dressed in traditional costumes presented
the gifts at the altar, which was bathed in a cloud of incense.
Many historians describe the slaughter as the 20th century's first
genocide, but Turkey hotly denies the accusation.
Turkey has summoned the Vatican's ambassador in Ankara over the pope's
comments, a senior official told Reuters on Sunday.
Turkey, which has yet to make an official statement on Pope Francis'
comments, summoned the ambassador to protest over the description of
the events as "genocide", the official said, declining to be
identified.
While Francis did not use his own words to describe the murders as
genocide, it was the first time the term was spoken aloud in
connection with Armenia by a head of the Roman Catholic Church in
Saint Peter's Basilica.
"It was a very courageous act to repeat clearly that it was a
genocide," Vatican expert Marco Tosatti told AFP.
"By quoting John Paul II he strengthened the Church's position, making
it clear where it stands on the issue," he added.
The Argentine pope described the "immense and senseless slaughter" and
spoke of the duty to "honour their memory, for whenever memory fades,
it means that evil allows wounds to fester."
The 78-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church had been under
pressure to use the term "genocide" publicly to describe the
slaughter, despite the risk of alienating an important ally in the
fight against radical Islam.
Before becoming pope, Jorge Bergoglio used the word several times in
events marking the mass murders, calling on Turkey to recognise the
killings as such, according to religious news agency I. Media.
As pope, Francis is said to have used it once during a private
audience in 2013 -- but even that sparked an outraged reaction from
Turkey.
Vatican expert John Allen said ahead of the mass that the "truly bold"
thing for Francis to do was "show restraint" -- something the pope may
feel he has achieved by uttering the word "genocide" but only while
quoting his Polish predecessor.
When Francis visited Turkey in November, President Recep Erdogan
offered the pontiff a pact under which he would defend Christians in
the Middle East in exchange for the Church tackling Islamophobia in
the West, Allen said -- describing it as "a potential game-changer."
In 2014, Erdogan, then premier, offered condolences for the mass
killings for the first time, but the country still blames unrest and
famine for many of the deaths.
Francis said the other two genocides of the 20th century were
"perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism", before pointing to more recent
mass killings in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia.
"It seems that humanity is incapable of putting a halt to the shedding
of innocent blood," he said.
Those murdered a century ago were mainly Christian and although the
killings were not openly driven by religious motives, the pontiff drew
comparisons with modern Christian refugees fleeing militants.
He referred once again to the modern day as "a time of war, a third
world war which is being fought piecemeal", and evoked the "muffled
and forgotten cry" of those "decapitated, crucified, burnt alive, or
forced to leave their homeland."
"Today too we are experiencing a sort of genocide created by general
and collective indifference," he said.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915
and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, and have long sought
to win international recognition of the massacres as genocide.
But Turkey rejects the claims, arguing that 300,000 to 500,000
Armenians and as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose
up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian
troops.
More than 20 nations, including France and Russia, recognise the
killings as genocide.
The pope pointed to Armenia's particular importance as "the first
Christian nation", being the first country to adopt Christianity as
its state religion in 301 AD.
Francis, who has close ties to the Armenian community from his days in
Argentina, defended his pronouncement by saying it was his duty to
honor the memory of the innocent men, women, children, priests and
bishops who were "senselessly" murdered.
Turkey's embassy to the Holy See had canceled a planned press
conference for Sunday, presumably after learning that the pope would
utter the word "genocide" over its objections.
This was not the first time that the Pope has spoken out over the
Armenia genocide. In 2013, at a meeting with Catholicos Patriarch of
Cilicia of the Armenian Catholics at the Vatican, he declared: "The
first genocide of the 20th century was that of the Armenians."
In 2006, before he became pontiff, he urged Turkey to recognize the
genocide as the "gravest crime of Ottoman Turkey against the Armenian
people and the entire humanity."
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Several European countries recognize the massacres as genocide, though
Italy and the United States have avoided using the term officially
given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally.
Tristan Gerrard
Journalist and Writer, Guest writer in many technology and politics
blogs and news sites. Graduated from New York City University in
Computer Technologies Engineering and working in a multiglobal company
valley now.
http://www.heraldrecorder.org/breaking/pope-francis-says-the-first-genocide-of-the-20th-century-2015521.html