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  • Pope recognizes Armenian 'genocide' likely straining relationship wi

    Pope recognizes Armenian 'genocide' likely straining relationship with Turkey

    By ARIEL COHEN
    04/12/2015 11:59


    "Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
    without bandaging it!" Francis said.

    In a statement likely to strain diplomatic ties with Turkey, Pope
    Francis referred to the 20th century mass killings of Armenians as the
    first genocide of the 20th century during a mass to commemorate the
    100th anniversary of the killings.

    "In the past century our human family has lived through three massive
    and unprecedented tragedies," Francis said during mass in Saint
    Peter's Basilica on Sunday morning. "The first, which is widely
    considered 'the first genocide of the 20th century', struck your own
    Armenian people," he said.

    Over 1.5 million Armenians perished under the Ottoman Empire during
    World War I. Armenians have been fighting for years to receive
    recognition that the event was indeed a genocide. Turkey has ardently
    insisted that the event was not a genocide, and that the deaths of the
    Christian Armenians were merely a part of the partisan fighting.

    Francis referred to the tragedy as a "senseless slaughter," stating
    that it is important to keep the memory of the genocide alive.

    "It is necessary, and indeed a duty, to honor their memory, for
    whenever memory fades, it means that evil allows wounds to fester,"
    Francis said. "Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to
    keep bleeding without bandaging it."

    The Pope also recalled other mass killings of the 20th century, such
    as those in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia. "It seems that
    humanity is incapable of putting a halt to the shedding of innocent
    blood," he added.

    Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church, His Beatitude Nerses Bedros
    XIX, His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, and His
    Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia of the Armenian
    Apostolic Church were all in attendance during the mass.

    Turkey has yet to respond to the statement by Pope Francis, but it is
    unlikely they will take kindly to the Vatican referring to the deaths
    of the Christian Armenians as a "genocide."


    http://www.jpost.com/Christian-News/Pope-statement-about-Armenian-genocide-likely-to-strain-relationship-with-Turkey-396821




    From: A. Papazian
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