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ARMENIA 20TH CENTURY'S FIRST GENOCIDE: POPE
IOL News, South Africa
April 12 2015
April 12 2015 at 03:19pm
By Steve Scherer
Vatican City - Pope Francis described the massacre of as many as 1.5
million Armenians as "the first genocide of the 20th century" at a
100th anniversary Mass on Sunday, choosing words that could draw an
angry reaction from Turkey.
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.
It was the first time a pope has publicly pronounced the word
"genocide" for the massacre, repeating a term used by some European
and South American countries but avoided by the United States and
some others to maintain good relations with an important ally.
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 in 2001.
Francis, who has disregarded many aspects of protocol since becoming
pope two years ago, said the phrase during a Vatican audience with
an Armenian delegation in 2013, prompting a strong protest from Ankara.
At the start of the Armenian rite Mass in St. Peter's Basilica,
the Argentine-born pontiff 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.
The Turkish foreign ministry was expected to issue a statement on
his use of the word "genocide" later on Sunday.
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 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 Armenian President Serzh Sargyan and the three most important
Armenian church patriarchs present.
"May God grant that the people of Armenia and Turkey take up again
the path of reconciliation, and may peace also spring forth in
Nagorno-Karabakh," he wrote in a letter to the people of Armenia.
http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/armenia-20th-century-s-first-genocide-pope-1.1843895#.VS4ScMYcSP8
From: Baghdasarian
IOL News, South Africa
April 12 2015
April 12 2015 at 03:19pm
By Steve Scherer
Vatican City - Pope Francis described the massacre of as many as 1.5
million Armenians as "the first genocide of the 20th century" at a
100th anniversary Mass on Sunday, choosing words that could draw an
angry reaction from Turkey.
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.
It was the first time a pope has publicly pronounced the word
"genocide" for the massacre, repeating a term used by some European
and South American countries but avoided by the United States and
some others to maintain good relations with an important ally.
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 in 2001.
Francis, who has disregarded many aspects of protocol since becoming
pope two years ago, said the phrase during a Vatican audience with
an Armenian delegation in 2013, prompting a strong protest from Ankara.
At the start of the Armenian rite Mass in St. Peter's Basilica,
the Argentine-born pontiff 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.
The Turkish foreign ministry was expected to issue a statement on
his use of the word "genocide" later on Sunday.
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 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 Armenian President Serzh Sargyan and the three most important
Armenian church patriarchs present.
"May God grant that the people of Armenia and Turkey take up again
the path of reconciliation, and may peace also spring forth in
Nagorno-Karabakh," he wrote in a letter to the people of Armenia.
http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/armenia-20th-century-s-first-genocide-pope-1.1843895#.VS4ScMYcSP8
From: Baghdasarian