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Anger as Pope calls Armenian massacre 'first genocide of 20th century'
Steve Scherer
PUBLISHED12/04/2015 | 10:47
OPEN GALLERY 1Pope Francis leads a mass for Armenian Catholics marking
100 years since the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman
Empire Credit: Andreas solaro
Pope Francis has incurred the wrath of Turkey after he marked the
100th anniversary of the massacre of as many as 1.5 million Armenians
as "the first genocide of the 20th century".
During a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, Francis recalled the "senseless
slaughter" of a century ago.
"It is necessary, and indeed a duty, to honour their memory, for
whenever memory fades, it means that evil allows wounds to fester," he
said.
"Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it."
Read More: Pope blocks the nomination of new French ambassador to
Vatican who is gay
Turkey's embassy to the Holy See cancelled a press conference planned
for Sunday after learning that the pope would utter the word
"genocide" over its objections.
Muslim Turkey accepts many Christian Armenians died in partisan
fighting beginning in 1915, but it denies that hundreds of thousands
were killed and that this amounted to "genocide".
In 2014, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered
condolences to the grandchildren of all the Armenians who lost their
lives for the first time.
But he also said that it was inadmissible for Armenia to turn the
issue "into a matter of political conflict".
Read More: Pope tells rain-soaked crowd that the world must strive for peace
Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died in 1915-16 as the Ottoman
empire split.
Most non-Turkish scholars believed that up to 1.5 million Armenians
died as the Ottoman empire split during the period of 1915-1916, and
regard the deaths as genocide.
Turkey, however, maintains that many of the dead were killed in
clashes during World War I, and that ethnic Turks also suffered in the
conflict.
Several European countries recognise 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.
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/anger-as-pope-calls-armenian-massacre-first-genocide-of-20th-century-31135727.html
Steve Scherer
PUBLISHED12/04/2015 | 10:47
OPEN GALLERY 1Pope Francis leads a mass for Armenian Catholics marking
100 years since the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman
Empire Credit: Andreas solaro
Pope Francis has incurred the wrath of Turkey after he marked the
100th anniversary of the massacre of as many as 1.5 million Armenians
as "the first genocide of the 20th century".
During a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, Francis recalled the "senseless
slaughter" of a century ago.
"It is necessary, and indeed a duty, to honour their memory, for
whenever memory fades, it means that evil allows wounds to fester," he
said.
"Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it."
Read More: Pope blocks the nomination of new French ambassador to
Vatican who is gay
Turkey's embassy to the Holy See cancelled a press conference planned
for Sunday after learning that the pope would utter the word
"genocide" over its objections.
Muslim Turkey accepts many Christian Armenians died in partisan
fighting beginning in 1915, but it denies that hundreds of thousands
were killed and that this amounted to "genocide".
In 2014, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered
condolences to the grandchildren of all the Armenians who lost their
lives for the first time.
But he also said that it was inadmissible for Armenia to turn the
issue "into a matter of political conflict".
Read More: Pope tells rain-soaked crowd that the world must strive for peace
Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died in 1915-16 as the Ottoman
empire split.
Most non-Turkish scholars believed that up to 1.5 million Armenians
died as the Ottoman empire split during the period of 1915-1916, and
regard the deaths as genocide.
Turkey, however, maintains that many of the dead were killed in
clashes during World War I, and that ethnic Turks also suffered in the
conflict.
Several European countries recognise 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.
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/anger-as-pope-calls-armenian-massacre-first-genocide-of-20th-century-31135727.html