Pope Calls the Murder of Armenians the First Genocide of the Twentieth Century
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Pope Francis I has called the mass killings of Armenians in 1915, in what is now Turkey, the first genocide of the twentieth century.
He stated this on April 12th at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, during a Mass dedicated to the centennial of beginning of the events, reports Deutsche Welle.
In the words of Francis, in the last century, there were “three massive and unprecedented tragedies,” and the first of which was that of the Armenian people.
He accused Nazism and Stalinism of committing the two other genocides. However, even after them, there followed other massacres in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi, and Bosnia. According to the Pontiff, this means that “humanity is incapable of putting a halt to the shedding of innocent blood.”
The Mass was also attended by President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and the Armenian Catholic Church Patriarch, Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni.
Turkey’s reaction
The Turkish Foreign Ministry immediately reacted to the Pope’s statement expressing “great disappointment and sadness” over the Pontiff’s words, which “may result in the deterioration of trust between the Vatican and Turkey.” Turkey summoned the Vatican’s ambassador for an explanation of the Pope’s words.
“The Pope’s statement, which is far from the legal and historical reality, cannot be accepted. It is not the place of religious authorities to incite resentment and hatred with baseless allegations,” tweeted Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Empire began mass arrests of Armenians living in its territory. Armenian authorities claim that one and a half million Armenian lives were destroyed due to the punitive action of the Empire. Turkey says that the number of victims is significantly overestimated and explains the loss of life as the realities of wartime.
2.5 million Armenians lived in the Ottoman Empire before WWI.
Nineteen countries, including Canada, Argentina, France, Belgium, Italy, Russia and Uruguay have officially recognized the Armenian genocide.
