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  • Pope To Hold Mass On Armenian Killings

    Big News Network, Australia
    April 12 2015

    Pope To Hold Mass On Armenian Killings

    RFE Saturday 11th April, 2015


    Pope Francis will mark on April 12 the 100th anniversary of the mass
    killing of Armenians by Ottoman soldiers during World War I.

    Francis and Armenian patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni will
    celebrate a special Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica.

    Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian is scheduled to attend.

    Commentators say attention will be focused on whether Francis refers
    to the mass killings act of genocide -- a description used by some
    historians and governments.

    Ankara accepts that many Armenians were killed in clashes, but denies
    that up to 1.5 million were killed in an act of genocide -- a
    description used by some historians and governments.

    The dispute continues to sour relations between Turkey and Armenia a
    century later.

    Some 20 nations, including Russia and France, recognize the killings
    as genocide.

    In the United States, 44 states have also branded the events as genocide.

    On March 18, 40 Republican and Democratic lawmakers introduced a
    resolution urging President Barack Obama to recognize the Armenian
    deaths as a genocide.

    During the special Mass on April 12, Francis will declare the revered
    mystic St. Gregory of Narek a doctor of the church.

    Only 35 people have been given the title, which is reserved for those
    whose writings have greatly served the universal church.

    Gregory, who lived around 950 to 1005, is considered one of the most
    important figures of medieval Armenian religious thought and
    literature.

    According to reports in the Turkish media, Turkey has been working
    behind the scenes to discourage Francis from uttering the term
    "genocide."

    Last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a message of
    condolences to descendants of Armenians killed and said Turkey was
    ready to confront the history of the killings.

    More recently, Erdogan has accused Armenians of not looking for the
    truth but seeking to score points against Turkey.

    With reporting by AFP, AP and BBC


    http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php/sid/231865829



    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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