Tweet
TURKEY RECALLS ITS AMBASSADOR IN VATICAN FOR CONSULTATIONS AFTER POPE'S GENOCIDE COMMENTS
ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 12, 2015 Sunday 08:01 PM GMT+4
ANKARA April 12.
Turkey has recalled its Ambassador to the Vatican Mehmet Paraci for
consultations after Pope Francis' genocide comments, the Turkish
Foreign Ministry said on Sunday
The Turkish authorities are "disappointed" by the comments made by
Pope Francis, who used the word "genocide" in describing the mass
killing of Armenians under Ottoman rule in World War I, Reuters said
on Sunday. The statement made by the Pope causes a "problem of trust"
between Turkey and the Vatican, the authorities said.
Pope Francis' comments about the genocide of Armenians are unacceptable
as they distort history, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
told journalists. "The Pope's statement which is far from historic and
legal truths is unacceptable," Cavusoglu said. "Religious positions
are not places where unfounded claims are made and hatred is stirred,"
he added.
Pope Francis' comments came at a service in Rome's St. Peter's Basilica
attended by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.
The Pope said humanity had lived through "three massive and
unprecedented tragedies" in the last century. "The first, which is
widely considered 'the first genocide of the 20th Century', struck
your own Armenian people," Pope Francis said, referencing a 2001
declaration by Pope John Paul II and the head of the Armenian church.
The Pope said that "Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans
and Greeks" were also killed in the bloodshed a century ago.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Vatican envoy Antonio
Lucibello for explanations earlier on Sunday. --0 --sap
ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 12, 2015 Sunday 08:01 PM GMT+4
ANKARA April 12.
Turkey has recalled its Ambassador to the Vatican Mehmet Paraci for
consultations after Pope Francis' genocide comments, the Turkish
Foreign Ministry said on Sunday
The Turkish authorities are "disappointed" by the comments made by
Pope Francis, who used the word "genocide" in describing the mass
killing of Armenians under Ottoman rule in World War I, Reuters said
on Sunday. The statement made by the Pope causes a "problem of trust"
between Turkey and the Vatican, the authorities said.
Pope Francis' comments about the genocide of Armenians are unacceptable
as they distort history, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
told journalists. "The Pope's statement which is far from historic and
legal truths is unacceptable," Cavusoglu said. "Religious positions
are not places where unfounded claims are made and hatred is stirred,"
he added.
Pope Francis' comments came at a service in Rome's St. Peter's Basilica
attended by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.
The Pope said humanity had lived through "three massive and
unprecedented tragedies" in the last century. "The first, which is
widely considered 'the first genocide of the 20th Century', struck
your own Armenian people," Pope Francis said, referencing a 2001
declaration by Pope John Paul II and the head of the Armenian church.
The Pope said that "Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans
and Greeks" were also killed in the bloodshed a century ago.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Vatican envoy Antonio
Lucibello for explanations earlier on Sunday. --0 --sap