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A DARK, TENSE HISTORY: BEHIND TURKEY'S PROTEST OF THE HOLY SEE
DFW Catholic
April 14 2015
Rome, Italy, Apr 14, 2015 / 12:25 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis'
comments on the extermination of Armenian Christians in early 20th
century Turkey prompted a strongly worded criticism from the Turkish
Foreign Ministry and led to the withdrawal of Turkey's ambassador to
the Holy See. But what's the full story?
As the April 24 centenary commemoration of the Armenian genocide
approaches, tensions between Turkey and Armenia run high. Despite
this, Pope Francis remembered the martyrdom of the Armenian people
during his April 12 Mass at the Vatican.
The Turkish government criticized the Pope and an Armenian
representative in a Sunday statement, focusing on the use of the word
"genocide."
Most non-Turkish scholars consider the mass killings of 1915-1916 to
be a genocide in which the Ottoman Empire systematically exterminated
its minority Armenian population, who were predominantly Christian.
Roughly 1.5 million Armenians - men, women and children - lost their
lives in ways ranging from executions into mass graves to meticulous
torture.
Turkey has repeatedly denied that the slaughter was a genocide, saying
that the number of deaths was much smaller and came as a result of
conflict surrounding World War I. The country holds that many ethnic
Turks also lost their lives in the event.
Pope Francis' comments on Sunday set off a firestorm of criticism
among Turkish leaders, prompting the removal of the country's Vatican
ambassador.
What could be lesser known, however, is that the Pope's introductory
remarks included a precise quote of the joint text that St. John Paul
II and Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos Karekin II of the Armenian
Apostolic Church issued on Sept. 27, 2001, during a papal visit
to Armenia.
The text said "the extermination of a million and a half Armenian
Christians, in what is generally referred to as the first genocide of
the twentieth century, and the subsequent annihilation of thousands
under the former totalitarian regime, are tragedies that still live
in the memory of the present-day generation."
Though never read aloud by John Paul II, the words of this joint
statement were balanced and correctly stressed that the Armenian
massacre is "generally referred to as the first genocide of the 20th
century." On the other hand, John Paul II never spoke aloud the word
"genocide" in his speeches in Armenia, though he had acknowledged the
Armenian martyrdom when he visited the genocide memorial in Armenia
on Sept. 26, 2001.
During that visit, St. John Paul II read a prayer and reminded his
audience that the early 20th century pontiff, Pope Benedict XV, "raised
his voice in defense of 'the sorely afflicted Armenian people.'"
"We are appalled by the terrible violence done to the Armenian people,
and dismayed that the world still knows such inhumanity," John Paul
II said.
The same spirit pervaded Pope Francis' text. A source who works in
Vatican diplomacy told CNA April 13 that the papal text had been
sent in advance to Vatican diplomatic circles and there had been a
discussion over whether using the word genocide could lead to some
diplomatic tensions.
In the end, "a full quote from the 2001 joint text was considered
the best way to give the message and avoid any diplomatic tension."
When Pope Francis read the text on Sunday, he did not explicitly say
he was quoting John Paul II. This led media reports to emphasize that
the Pope recognized the Armenian genocide.
However, the concluding off-the-cuff remarks by Aram I, the Armenian
Apostolic Church's Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, disturbed
Turkish authorities even more.
Towards the end of his Armenian-language speech, Catholicos Aram
I spoke for about 10 minutes in English. He underscored that "the
Armenian genocide is an unforgettable and undeniable fact of history,
deeply rooted in the annals of modern history and in the common
consciousness of the Armenian people. Therefore any attempt to erase
it from history and from our common history is doomed to fade."
He also stated that "according to the international law, genocide
is a crime against humanity. International laws spells out clearly
that condemnation, recognition and reparation of the genocides are
closely interconnected. The Armenian cause is a cause of justice
and as we well know justice is not human made, it's a gift of God;
therefore the violation of justice is a sin against God."
In the end, these words caused the declaration from the Turkish Foreign
Ministry. The statement clearly pointed out that it concerned the
statements of both "Pope Francis and of the Armenian representatives,"
and charged that both of them "contradict historical facts."
The Turkish Foreign Ministry's statement focused on the legal concept
of genocide. The ministry said that "claims not fulfilling the
requirements of law, even if they are attempted to be explained on
the basis of widespread conviction, are bound to remain as slanders."
The release also objected that Pope Francis' prior statements referred
to the "tragic events" in Bosnia and Rwanda as "mass killings," which
"competent international courts" have declared to be genocides.
The ministry claimed that Pope Francis called "the events of 1915"
a genocide "despite the absence of any such competent court judgment."
These concerns were conveyed to the papal nuncio to Turkey, Archbishop
Antonio Lucibello, and are likely part of a formal diplomatic protest
forwarded to the Holy See through Mehmet Pacaci, Turkish Ambassador to
the Holy See, who has was called to Turkey for consultations on Sunday.
Turkish reaction also comes in the context of the interactions between
the Turkish and Armenian governments in view of the upcoming April
24 commemoration of the mass killings. The commemoration will take
place in the Armenian capital of Erevan. Many heads of state have
been invited, including the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan declined the invitation and organized another ceremony the
very same day to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the World War
I Gallipoli campaign, one of the most famous battles of World War
I between Ottoman troops and invading Allied forces. The Turkish
president invited U.S. President Barack Obama and the Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan, who declined the invitation.
These splits let understand why the issue has been so strongly
addressed by the Turkish government. However, it is noteworthy that
both the Holy See newspaper L'Osservatore Romano and the Italian
Bishops Conference's newspaper L'Avvenire referred more to the
martyrdom of Armenians than to a genocide, putting into action a
prudent - yet tough - language.
http://www.dfwcatholic.org/a-dark-tense-history-behind-turkeys-protest-of-the-holy-see-65593/.html
DFW Catholic
April 14 2015
Rome, Italy, Apr 14, 2015 / 12:25 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis'
comments on the extermination of Armenian Christians in early 20th
century Turkey prompted a strongly worded criticism from the Turkish
Foreign Ministry and led to the withdrawal of Turkey's ambassador to
the Holy See. But what's the full story?
As the April 24 centenary commemoration of the Armenian genocide
approaches, tensions between Turkey and Armenia run high. Despite
this, Pope Francis remembered the martyrdom of the Armenian people
during his April 12 Mass at the Vatican.
The Turkish government criticized the Pope and an Armenian
representative in a Sunday statement, focusing on the use of the word
"genocide."
Most non-Turkish scholars consider the mass killings of 1915-1916 to
be a genocide in which the Ottoman Empire systematically exterminated
its minority Armenian population, who were predominantly Christian.
Roughly 1.5 million Armenians - men, women and children - lost their
lives in ways ranging from executions into mass graves to meticulous
torture.
Turkey has repeatedly denied that the slaughter was a genocide, saying
that the number of deaths was much smaller and came as a result of
conflict surrounding World War I. The country holds that many ethnic
Turks also lost their lives in the event.
Pope Francis' comments on Sunday set off a firestorm of criticism
among Turkish leaders, prompting the removal of the country's Vatican
ambassador.
What could be lesser known, however, is that the Pope's introductory
remarks included a precise quote of the joint text that St. John Paul
II and Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos Karekin II of the Armenian
Apostolic Church issued on Sept. 27, 2001, during a papal visit
to Armenia.
The text said "the extermination of a million and a half Armenian
Christians, in what is generally referred to as the first genocide of
the twentieth century, and the subsequent annihilation of thousands
under the former totalitarian regime, are tragedies that still live
in the memory of the present-day generation."
Though never read aloud by John Paul II, the words of this joint
statement were balanced and correctly stressed that the Armenian
massacre is "generally referred to as the first genocide of the 20th
century." On the other hand, John Paul II never spoke aloud the word
"genocide" in his speeches in Armenia, though he had acknowledged the
Armenian martyrdom when he visited the genocide memorial in Armenia
on Sept. 26, 2001.
During that visit, St. John Paul II read a prayer and reminded his
audience that the early 20th century pontiff, Pope Benedict XV, "raised
his voice in defense of 'the sorely afflicted Armenian people.'"
"We are appalled by the terrible violence done to the Armenian people,
and dismayed that the world still knows such inhumanity," John Paul
II said.
The same spirit pervaded Pope Francis' text. A source who works in
Vatican diplomacy told CNA April 13 that the papal text had been
sent in advance to Vatican diplomatic circles and there had been a
discussion over whether using the word genocide could lead to some
diplomatic tensions.
In the end, "a full quote from the 2001 joint text was considered
the best way to give the message and avoid any diplomatic tension."
When Pope Francis read the text on Sunday, he did not explicitly say
he was quoting John Paul II. This led media reports to emphasize that
the Pope recognized the Armenian genocide.
However, the concluding off-the-cuff remarks by Aram I, the Armenian
Apostolic Church's Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, disturbed
Turkish authorities even more.
Towards the end of his Armenian-language speech, Catholicos Aram
I spoke for about 10 minutes in English. He underscored that "the
Armenian genocide is an unforgettable and undeniable fact of history,
deeply rooted in the annals of modern history and in the common
consciousness of the Armenian people. Therefore any attempt to erase
it from history and from our common history is doomed to fade."
He also stated that "according to the international law, genocide
is a crime against humanity. International laws spells out clearly
that condemnation, recognition and reparation of the genocides are
closely interconnected. The Armenian cause is a cause of justice
and as we well know justice is not human made, it's a gift of God;
therefore the violation of justice is a sin against God."
In the end, these words caused the declaration from the Turkish Foreign
Ministry. The statement clearly pointed out that it concerned the
statements of both "Pope Francis and of the Armenian representatives,"
and charged that both of them "contradict historical facts."
The Turkish Foreign Ministry's statement focused on the legal concept
of genocide. The ministry said that "claims not fulfilling the
requirements of law, even if they are attempted to be explained on
the basis of widespread conviction, are bound to remain as slanders."
The release also objected that Pope Francis' prior statements referred
to the "tragic events" in Bosnia and Rwanda as "mass killings," which
"competent international courts" have declared to be genocides.
The ministry claimed that Pope Francis called "the events of 1915"
a genocide "despite the absence of any such competent court judgment."
These concerns were conveyed to the papal nuncio to Turkey, Archbishop
Antonio Lucibello, and are likely part of a formal diplomatic protest
forwarded to the Holy See through Mehmet Pacaci, Turkish Ambassador to
the Holy See, who has was called to Turkey for consultations on Sunday.
Turkish reaction also comes in the context of the interactions between
the Turkish and Armenian governments in view of the upcoming April
24 commemoration of the mass killings. The commemoration will take
place in the Armenian capital of Erevan. Many heads of state have
been invited, including the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan declined the invitation and organized another ceremony the
very same day to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the World War
I Gallipoli campaign, one of the most famous battles of World War
I between Ottoman troops and invading Allied forces. The Turkish
president invited U.S. President Barack Obama and the Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan, who declined the invitation.
These splits let understand why the issue has been so strongly
addressed by the Turkish government. However, it is noteworthy that
both the Holy See newspaper L'Osservatore Romano and the Italian
Bishops Conference's newspaper L'Avvenire referred more to the
martyrdom of Armenians than to a genocide, putting into action a
prudent - yet tough - language.
http://www.dfwcatholic.org/a-dark-tense-history-behind-turkeys-protest-of-the-holy-see-65593/.html