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POPE INFURIATES TURKEY BY DESCRIBING MASS KILLINGS OF ARMENIANS 100 YEARS AGO AS 'GENOCIDE'
Daily Mail, UK
April 12, 2015 Sunday 6:02 PM GMT
by SARA MALM FOR MAILONLINE and REUTERS
Pope calls mass murder of Armenians 'first genocide of the 20th
century' The 1915 killings saw 1.5m Armenians slaughtered by Ottoman
Turks Turkey said Pope Francis' comments had caused a 'problem
of trust' Turkey denies killings were genocide, saying both sides
suffered loss
Pope Francis has angered the Turkish government by describing the
mass-murders of up to 1.5million Armenians in 1915 as 'the first
genocide of the 20th century'.
The pontiff made the comments at a 100th anniversary Mass on Sunday,
prompting Turkey to summon the Holy See's ambassador in Ankara
in protest.
Turkey told the Vatican ambassador it was 'deeply sorry and
disappointed' in Pope Francis, adding that his comments had caused a
'problem of trust'.
Scroll down for video
While Turkey accepts that many Armenians died in clashes with
Ottoman soldiers beginning in 1915, when Armenia was part of the
empire ruled from Istanbul, it denies that the victims reached the
estimated 1.5million and that this amounted to genocide.
Today was the first time a pope has publicly used 'genocide' to
describe the massacre, although it is a term used by many European
and South American governments.
In 2001, Pope John Paul II and Armenian Apostolic Church Supreme
Patriarch Kerekin II called it 'the first genocide of the 20th century'
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 the archbishop of Buenos Aires before becoming the leader of the
world's 1.2 billion Catholics, Jorge Maria Bergoglio had already
publicly characterised the mass killings as genocide.
In November, the Argentine-born pontiff made an official visit to
Turkey as part of his efforts to solidify relations with moderate
Muslim states.
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIED BY TURKEY FOR 100 YEARS
This April marks the 100th anniversary of the massacre of an estimated
1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks.
The anniversary of the mass killings in World War One will be
commemorated by Armenia on April 24.
The killings in 1915 are regarded by many historians as the first
genocide of the 20th century, and are said to have inspired Nazi
leader Adolf Hitler.
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.
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.
Several European countries recognize the massacres as such, though
Italy and the United States, for example, have avoided using the term
officially given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally.
Last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a message
of condolences to descendants of Armenians killed and said Turkey
was ready to confront the history of the killings.
More recently, Erdogan has accused Armenians of not looking for the
truth but seeking to score points against Turkey, saying numerous
calls from Turkey for joint research to document precisely what
happened had gone unanswered.
At the start of the Armenian rite Mass in St. Peter's Basilica,
Pope Francis described the 'senseless slaughter' of 100 years ago
as 'the first genocide of the 20th century', which was followed by
'Nazism and Stalinism'.
'It is necessary, and indeed a duty, to honour 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
Sargyan'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,' Sargyan said in a speech at a
Vatican dinner on Saturday evening.
After Francis's remarks on Sunday, Turkey swiftly summoned the
Vatican's ambassador in Ankara to protest and seek an explanation.
'The pope's statement which is far from historic and legal truths
is unacceptable. Religious positions are not places where unfounded
claims are made and hatred is stirred,' Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu tweeted.
The Foreign Ministry in Ankara later issued a statement conveying its
'great disappointment and sadness.'
It said the pope's words signaled a loss in trust, contradicted the
pope's message of peace and was discriminatory because Francis only
mentioned the pain of Christians, not Muslims or other religious
groups.
Francis also urged reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia, and
between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Caucasus mountain
region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The appeal came in a letter handed out during a meeting after the Mass
to Sargyan and the three most important Armenian church patriarchs
present.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Daily Mail, UK
April 12, 2015 Sunday 6:02 PM GMT
by SARA MALM FOR MAILONLINE and REUTERS
Pope calls mass murder of Armenians 'first genocide of the 20th
century' The 1915 killings saw 1.5m Armenians slaughtered by Ottoman
Turks Turkey said Pope Francis' comments had caused a 'problem
of trust' Turkey denies killings were genocide, saying both sides
suffered loss
Pope Francis has angered the Turkish government by describing the
mass-murders of up to 1.5million Armenians in 1915 as 'the first
genocide of the 20th century'.
The pontiff made the comments at a 100th anniversary Mass on Sunday,
prompting Turkey to summon the Holy See's ambassador in Ankara
in protest.
Turkey told the Vatican ambassador it was 'deeply sorry and
disappointed' in Pope Francis, adding that his comments had caused a
'problem of trust'.
Scroll down for video
While Turkey accepts that many Armenians died in clashes with
Ottoman soldiers beginning in 1915, when Armenia was part of the
empire ruled from Istanbul, it denies that the victims reached the
estimated 1.5million and that this amounted to genocide.
Today was the first time a pope has publicly used 'genocide' to
describe the massacre, although it is a term used by many European
and South American governments.
In 2001, Pope John Paul II and Armenian Apostolic Church Supreme
Patriarch Kerekin II called it 'the first genocide of the 20th century'
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 the archbishop of Buenos Aires before becoming the leader of the
world's 1.2 billion Catholics, Jorge Maria Bergoglio had already
publicly characterised the mass killings as genocide.
In November, the Argentine-born pontiff made an official visit to
Turkey as part of his efforts to solidify relations with moderate
Muslim states.
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIED BY TURKEY FOR 100 YEARS
This April marks the 100th anniversary of the massacre of an estimated
1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks.
The anniversary of the mass killings in World War One will be
commemorated by Armenia on April 24.
The killings in 1915 are regarded by many historians as the first
genocide of the 20th century, and are said to have inspired Nazi
leader Adolf Hitler.
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.
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.
Several European countries recognize the massacres as such, though
Italy and the United States, for example, have avoided using the term
officially given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally.
Last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a message
of condolences to descendants of Armenians killed and said Turkey
was ready to confront the history of the killings.
More recently, Erdogan has accused Armenians of not looking for the
truth but seeking to score points against Turkey, saying numerous
calls from Turkey for joint research to document precisely what
happened had gone unanswered.
At the start of the Armenian rite Mass in St. Peter's Basilica,
Pope Francis described the 'senseless slaughter' of 100 years ago
as 'the first genocide of the 20th century', which was followed by
'Nazism and Stalinism'.
'It is necessary, and indeed a duty, to honour 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
Sargyan'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,' Sargyan said in a speech at a
Vatican dinner on Saturday evening.
After Francis's remarks on Sunday, Turkey swiftly summoned the
Vatican's ambassador in Ankara to protest and seek an explanation.
'The pope's statement which is far from historic and legal truths
is unacceptable. Religious positions are not places where unfounded
claims are made and hatred is stirred,' Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu tweeted.
The Foreign Ministry in Ankara later issued a statement conveying its
'great disappointment and sadness.'
It said the pope's words signaled a loss in trust, contradicted the
pope's message of peace and was discriminatory because Francis only
mentioned the pain of Christians, not Muslims or other religious
groups.
Francis also urged reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia, and
between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Caucasus mountain
region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The appeal came in a letter handed out during a meeting after the Mass
to Sargyan and the three most important Armenian church patriarchs
present.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress