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POPE RILES TURKEY BY CALLING ARMENIAN KILLINGS 'GENOCIDE'
Wort, Luxemburg
April 12 2015
Published on Sunday, 12 April, 2015 at 16:28
(AFP) Pope Francis uttered the word "genocide" on Sunday to describe
the mass murder of Armenians 100 years ago, sparking anger from Turkey
which summoned the Vatican's ambassador for an explanation.
"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.
Many historians describe the slaughter as the 20th century's first
genocide, but Turkey hotly denies the accusation.
Ankara summoned the Vatican envoy and an official statement from the
foreign ministry is expected later Sunday, television reports said.
The pope's comments were extensively reported on the country's main
news websites.
"The pope, the first guest in the palace, used the world 'genocide',"
said the Cumhuriyet daily on its website, referring ironically to
the fact that the pope was President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's first
top-ranking visitor to his new presidential palace in Ankara when he
visited Turkey in November 2014.
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 commented. "By quoting John
Paul II he strengthened the Church's position, making it clear where
it stands on the issue," he added.
'Immense and senseless slaughter'
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.
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.
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.
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, 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."
'Shedding of innocent blood'
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.
The Armenian victims a century ago were Christian and although the
killings were not openly driven by religious motives, the pontiff drew
comparisons with modern Christian refugees fleeing Islamic 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, burned alive,
or forced to leave their homeland."
"Today too we are experiencing a sort of genocide created by general
and collective indifference," he said.
Vatican watcher Marco Politi said the address was typical of a pope
who "uses language without excessive diplomatic cares" and whose
aim was to "stimulate the international community" to intervene in
modern-day persecutions.
http://www.wort.lu/en/international/centenary-mass-in-rome-pope-riles-turkey-by-calling-armenian-killings-genocide-552a802d0c88b46a8ce573eb
Wort, Luxemburg
April 12 2015
Published on Sunday, 12 April, 2015 at 16:28
(AFP) Pope Francis uttered the word "genocide" on Sunday to describe
the mass murder of Armenians 100 years ago, sparking anger from Turkey
which summoned the Vatican's ambassador for an explanation.
"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.
Many historians describe the slaughter as the 20th century's first
genocide, but Turkey hotly denies the accusation.
Ankara summoned the Vatican envoy and an official statement from the
foreign ministry is expected later Sunday, television reports said.
The pope's comments were extensively reported on the country's main
news websites.
"The pope, the first guest in the palace, used the world 'genocide',"
said the Cumhuriyet daily on its website, referring ironically to
the fact that the pope was President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's first
top-ranking visitor to his new presidential palace in Ankara when he
visited Turkey in November 2014.
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 commented. "By quoting John
Paul II he strengthened the Church's position, making it clear where
it stands on the issue," he added.
'Immense and senseless slaughter'
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.
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.
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.
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, 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."
'Shedding of innocent blood'
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.
The Armenian victims a century ago were Christian and although the
killings were not openly driven by religious motives, the pontiff drew
comparisons with modern Christian refugees fleeing Islamic 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, burned alive,
or forced to leave their homeland."
"Today too we are experiencing a sort of genocide created by general
and collective indifference," he said.
Vatican watcher Marco Politi said the address was typical of a pope
who "uses language without excessive diplomatic cares" and whose
aim was to "stimulate the international community" to intervene in
modern-day persecutions.
http://www.wort.lu/en/international/centenary-mass-in-rome-pope-riles-turkey-by-calling-armenian-killings-genocide-552a802d0c88b46a8ce573eb