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POPE CALLS ARMENIAN MASSACRE GENOCIDE
The Irish Times
April 13, 2015 Monday
Mass in St Peter s recalled slaughter of 1.5m Armenians by Ottoman
Empire
by Paddy Agnew
Pope Francis yesterday sparked anger in Turkey when he called the first
World War massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire,
"the first genocide of the 20th century".
Turkey responded by summoning the papal nuncio in Ankara, Archbishop
Antonio Lucibello, to express its "deep sorrow and disappointment"
about the pope's remarks.
The comments were made during a commemorative Mass in the Basilica
of St Peter's, held to recall the centenary of the "Metz Yeghern"
(the Great Evil), as the massacres or "mass deportations" are called
by Armenians.
Among those attending were many Armenian faithful as well as Armenian
Orthodox and Catholic patriarchs and the Armenian president, Serzh
Sargsyan.
Stating that "our time" is "a time of war", the pontiff not only
called the Armenian massacres one of "three massive and unprecedented
tragedies" of the last century but compared them to much more recent
mass killings, saying:
"The first genocide ... struck your own Armenian people, the first
Christian nation, as well as Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians,
Chaldeans and Greeks ...
"The remaining two were perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism. And more
recently there have been other mass killings, like those in Cambodia,
Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia.
"It seems that humanity is incapable of putting a halt to the shedding
of innocent blood. It seems that the enthusiasm generated at the end
of the second World War has dissipated and is now disappearing."
Senseless slaughter Calling it a duty to recall "that immense and
senseless slaughter", Pope Francis said that to conceal or deny it
would be like "allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it".
Diplomatic sources in Ankara said the statement contradicted the
message of peace and friendship the pontiff delivered during his
three-day visit to Ankara and Istanbul last November.
The interpretation of the Metz Yeghern or mass deportations has
long prompted bitter differences. Armenian and other historians have
argued that 1.5 million Armenian Christians, Catholic and Orthodox,
were slaughtered during the first World War as the Ottoman government
embarked on a systematic extermination of its minority Armenian
population.
Not only were able-bodied Armenian males killed but women, children and
the infirm were also driven into the Syrian desert on death marches,
historians claims.
Turkey, the contemporary successor state to the Ottoman Empire, has
always rejected the term "genocide" in relation to the Armenians,
arguing that the death toll during "mass deportations" has been
inflated. It claims the majority of those killed in 1915 and 1916 were
victims of civil strife and general unrest during the first World War.
Yesterday was not the first time a pope has used the word "genocide"
in relation to the Armenian massacres. In September 2000, John
Paul II issued a common declaration with Orthodox Armenian patriarch
Karekin II which referred to the "extermination of a million and a half
Christians", calling it "the first genocide of the 20th century". That
statement, too, prompted serious Vatican-Turkey tensions.
Patriarch Karekin II, who attended yesterday's Mass, said in a message
that "the universal recognition and condemnation of the Armenian
Genocide ... will benefit the creation of a safe and just world". He
said the 100th anniversary of the genocide was an invitation to the
world "to stop and prevent crimes against humanity".
Meanwhile, last Saturday Pope Francis formally confirmed next year's
Holy Year with a Papal Bull of Indiction. Due to run from December 8th,
2015 to November 20th, 2016, the Holy Year of Mercy should "reawaken
our conscience, when faced with the drama of poverty", he said.
The Irish Times
April 13, 2015 Monday
Mass in St Peter s recalled slaughter of 1.5m Armenians by Ottoman
Empire
by Paddy Agnew
Pope Francis yesterday sparked anger in Turkey when he called the first
World War massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire,
"the first genocide of the 20th century".
Turkey responded by summoning the papal nuncio in Ankara, Archbishop
Antonio Lucibello, to express its "deep sorrow and disappointment"
about the pope's remarks.
The comments were made during a commemorative Mass in the Basilica
of St Peter's, held to recall the centenary of the "Metz Yeghern"
(the Great Evil), as the massacres or "mass deportations" are called
by Armenians.
Among those attending were many Armenian faithful as well as Armenian
Orthodox and Catholic patriarchs and the Armenian president, Serzh
Sargsyan.
Stating that "our time" is "a time of war", the pontiff not only
called the Armenian massacres one of "three massive and unprecedented
tragedies" of the last century but compared them to much more recent
mass killings, saying:
"The first genocide ... struck your own Armenian people, the first
Christian nation, as well as Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians,
Chaldeans and Greeks ...
"The remaining two were perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism. And more
recently there have been other mass killings, like those in Cambodia,
Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia.
"It seems that humanity is incapable of putting a halt to the shedding
of innocent blood. It seems that the enthusiasm generated at the end
of the second World War has dissipated and is now disappearing."
Senseless slaughter Calling it a duty to recall "that immense and
senseless slaughter", Pope Francis said that to conceal or deny it
would be like "allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it".
Diplomatic sources in Ankara said the statement contradicted the
message of peace and friendship the pontiff delivered during his
three-day visit to Ankara and Istanbul last November.
The interpretation of the Metz Yeghern or mass deportations has
long prompted bitter differences. Armenian and other historians have
argued that 1.5 million Armenian Christians, Catholic and Orthodox,
were slaughtered during the first World War as the Ottoman government
embarked on a systematic extermination of its minority Armenian
population.
Not only were able-bodied Armenian males killed but women, children and
the infirm were also driven into the Syrian desert on death marches,
historians claims.
Turkey, the contemporary successor state to the Ottoman Empire, has
always rejected the term "genocide" in relation to the Armenians,
arguing that the death toll during "mass deportations" has been
inflated. It claims the majority of those killed in 1915 and 1916 were
victims of civil strife and general unrest during the first World War.
Yesterday was not the first time a pope has used the word "genocide"
in relation to the Armenian massacres. In September 2000, John
Paul II issued a common declaration with Orthodox Armenian patriarch
Karekin II which referred to the "extermination of a million and a half
Christians", calling it "the first genocide of the 20th century". That
statement, too, prompted serious Vatican-Turkey tensions.
Patriarch Karekin II, who attended yesterday's Mass, said in a message
that "the universal recognition and condemnation of the Armenian
Genocide ... will benefit the creation of a safe and just world". He
said the 100th anniversary of the genocide was an invitation to the
world "to stop and prevent crimes against humanity".
Meanwhile, last Saturday Pope Francis formally confirmed next year's
Holy Year with a Papal Bull of Indiction. Due to run from December 8th,
2015 to November 20th, 2016, the Holy Year of Mercy should "reawaken
our conscience, when faced with the drama of poverty", he said.