Turkey anger at Pope Francis Armenian ‘genocide’ claim

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Turkey summoned the Vatican ambassador over Pope Francis’s use of the word “genocide” to describe the mass killing of Armenians under Ottoman rule in WW1.

The foreign ministry reportedly told the envoy it was “disappointed” by the comments, which caused a “problem of trust” between Turkey and the Vatican.

Armenia and many historians say up to 1.5 million people were systematically killed by Ottoman forces in 1915.

Turkey has consistently denied that the killings were genocide.

The Pope’s comments came at a service in Rome to honour a 10th Century mystic, attended by Armenia’s president.

The dispute has continued to sour relations between Armenia and Turkey.

‘Bleeding wound’

The Pope first used the word genocide for the killings two years ago, prompting a fierce protest from Turkey.

At Sunday’s Mass in the Armenian Catholic rite at Peter’s Basilica, he said that 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,” he said, in a form of words used by a declaration by Pope John Paul II in 2001.

Pope Francis also referred to the crimes “perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism” and said other genocides had followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia.

He said it was his duty to honour the memories of those who were killed.

“Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it,” the Pope added.

On Sunday, Pope Francis also honoured the 10th Century mystic St Gregory of Narek by declaring him a doctor of the church. Only 35 other people have been given the title, including St Augustine and the Venerable Bede.

Armenia marks the date of 24 April 1915 as the start of the mass killings. The country has long campaigned for greater recognition of what it regards as a genocide.

‘Political conflict’

In 2014, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered condolences to the grandchildren of all the Armenians who lost their lives for the first time.

But he also said that it was inadmissible for Armenia to turn the issue “into a matter of political conflict”.

Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died in 1915-16 as the Ottoman empire split. Turkey has said the number of deaths was much smaller.

Most non-Turkish scholars of the events regard them as genocide. Among the other states which formally recognise them as genocide are Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay.

Turkey maintains that many of the dead were killed in clashes during World War I, and that ethnic Turks also suffered in the conflict.

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Analysis: David Willey, BBC News, Rome

The Pope was perfectly conscious that by using the word “genocide” he would offend Turkey, which considers the number of deaths of Armenians during the extinction of the Ottoman Empire exaggerated, and continues to deny the extent of the massacre.

But the Pope’s powerful phrase “concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to bleed without bandaging it” extended his condemnation to all other, more recent, mass killings.

Pope Francis’ focus today on Armenia, the first country to adopt Christianity as its state religion, even before the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine, serves as yet another reminder of the Catholic Church’s widely spread roots in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. More than 20 local Eastern Catholic Churches, including that of Armenia, remain in communion with Rome.
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BBC

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29 responses to “Turkey anger at Pope Francis Armenian ‘genocide’ claim”

  1. nagy_michael2 Avatar
    nagy_michael2

    Too bad Turkey is angry and if they have been honest and came forward long time ago, none of that would continue to hunt them. Turkey forgot and I am astonished that many Lebanese Christians do not mention it. that during the Turkish rules in Lebanon, the barbarian disarmed the Christians and armed the Muslims and druse and incited them against Christians resulting in tens of thousands of Christians was slaughtered. My grandmother and other elders used to tell me how the Christians were being butchered and starved to an extreme where they ate their children. Yes I am not proud of that part of history but why are the Christians ignoring all these history is beyond me. If Turkey didn’t kill over 1 million Armenians why do they shut the voices that are speaking of the history of that horrible genocide? does the truth hurt? are they afraid to compensate the Armenians with money and at least some apologies and let’s move on and build a better future for our generations? let’s say that the Armenians did help the Russian army against the Turks? did the 1.5 millions all need to die? otherwise let open up the doors of history and get this wide open once and for all. Also the last thing the Israelis want to remind everyone of Hitler gas chambers and their own misery. Yet they only use the Armenians genocide in Congress when they want to get even with Turkey.. shame on you all and shame on Turkey and the Muslim world who keep letting the massacres of Christians across middle east and doing nothing to stop it. your silent voices and lack of actions speak volume. thanks for nothing..

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      Yah. Not Genocide. Only KILLING. Seems only Jews can have genocides. For everyone else it’s only tragic numbers of deaths. The WORLD is fucked ……
      Who SAYS it must be 6+ million before you can call it a Genocide?? What’s the lowest limit??
      If a whole tribe is only 100,000 and you wipe them out, that’s not a Genocide?? Oh, there was one left??
      GET REAL !!!!!
      Assume the Yazidis had been left to rot on a mountaintop. Was there enough to say ‘Genocide’??

      1. How about the genocide if Iraqis by the Americans? Amazing how you never ever accuse the west of the same thing you accuse “certain sects” of.

      2. why bring up the Jews? the Holocaust Museum and Yad Vashem both list other genocides. each one you mentioned qualifies. why show Jew hatred on something that has nothing to do with them?

        1. He has to bring up Jews to satisfy his boyfriend hind.

        2. 5thDrawer Avatar
          5thDrawer

          Only because it SEEMS to be the way every other despot thinks it is … although Iran even had some trouble admitting the Jews suffered one. I wasn’t talking to those who experienced. Only those who won’t admit they occurred.
          By the way, ignore the big O who has his own agenda.

        3. Hind Abyad Avatar
          Hind Abyad

          Why Israel like the Turks, never accepted Armenian “Genocide”?
          Who was editor of “The Young Turks” paper in 1916?
          Hitler said: “Who remembers the Armenian Genocide today”.

          1. Huh?

    2. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      In Lebanon, Nagy, no-one is allowed to write a ‘History’ textbook.
      I note that there was ONLY one MAN who confessed anything, and spent 5 yrs in jail for it.

      1. nagy_michael2 Avatar
        nagy_michael2

        well I definitely remember reading about the history of the Turks arming muslims against Christians.
        It was just a story told by many..

    3. “shame on you all and shame on Turkey and the Muslim world who keep letting the massacres of Christians across middle east and doing nothing to stop it. your silent voices and lack of actions speak volume. thanks for nothing..”

      So you want the Muslim world to pause from being massacred as we speak to do something about the Christians being “massacred”?
      Shane on the Christians for letting their own be killed and for killing others. Stop this poor victim syndrome, you appear to have learnt well from hind. It wasn’t Iraq that invaded a Christian country and killed the equivalent of 23 million American Christians! It was the Christian usa that invaded and killed 1.5 million Iraqi Muslims.

      1. nagy_michael2 Avatar
        nagy_michael2

        who don’t go play with your ISIS boyfriends you seem to fit well with them. When the Serbs were attacking Bosnian Muslims it was the US and the West who fought on their behalf and freed the Bosinians from the Serbs and even the International Tribunal put several of the Serb leaders in jail. No muslim nations lifted their fingers to help those bosnians. but your memory is selective I guess.
        you don’t seem to attack ISIS at all and you seem to go along with their beliefs. And Change your name from O because I am so tired of Spelling your name..
        As far as Iraq I was totally against the war and many Christians were hurt on top of it because of that war. To me it was a handful of American leaders who decided to take advantage of the situations and many Americans were deceived by the declaration of war by the Bushes.. second I am sure Israelis wanted to get even with Saddam no doubt about it. to me I was rather had Saddam to stay as a buffer zone between the Gulf and Iran. but Cheney and his Oil boys got greedy and wanted it all. well we all know what happened afterward.
        And last some Muslim sheiks paying lip services when the minorities being attacked in the Middle east but when God forbids a Christian is accused of burning a Quran book or even if it was a lie he/she get butchered by your barbarians.. barabian.. is that your name ..
        and lastly Turkey were helping ISIS and still doing it and allowing safe heaven and attacks against the innocent Syrians and other minorities. Today I hear 120 children got kidnapped by your bodies..
        keep blaming the Christians..

        1. Hind Abyad Avatar
          Hind Abyad

          See British mandate for Palestine map in 1916?
          Jabotinsky was editor of Ataturk paper The Young Turks promoting the Armenian Genocide, Zionists and Turks wanted a Middle East free of Christians, Ataturk (a Jew) and Jabotinsky plan is the end of Christians in Iraq and Syria. While Netanyahu, Saudis and Turks enable ISIS, Palestinians Christians are invited to immigrate to Europe. Exactly as Sarkozy told al Rai in 2011 “prepare your people for an exodus to Europe”, before the “Syrian rebellion”. First massacred were the Christians in Homs.

          1. 5thDrawer Avatar
            5thDrawer

            One thing for sure.
            The British of 1916 could draw lines that were more straight than israelis can draw now.

          2. Lick lick
            Slurp slurp

          3. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            It’s an old story here are the dates. Herzl plan and Rothschild money, the Likud follows the plan, did you notice where we’re now?

            http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/zionisms_master_plan.htm

          4. You are such a repetitive taqqiya whore.

          5. every word you write is a lie, including “a” and “the.”

          6. I agree with you ONE HUNDRED and TEN percent.

          7. 5thDrawer Avatar
            5thDrawer

            Are the books in the list a ‘lie’??

        2. Hind Abyad Avatar
          Hind Abyad

          It didn’t open below, or will open later. Good night.

          1. But you are always open “below”

        3. and you live in the west? Obviously you either didn’t go to school or were a slow learner. These lame Isis accusations are getting boring. Your mom is Isis. And your dad is Hezbollah
          See anyone can throw lane accusations around!
          Try providing evidence to back up your braying ya hmar

      2. Hind Abyad Avatar
        Hind Abyad

        ISIS Christian killers discourse

        1. It’s obvious why you are using Christianity to influence the Christians on here.
          But you are not Christian, nor a female and certainly not Lebanese.
          Back to Tehran you go

          1. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            As sweetvirgo and Hannibal are Shia takiyaya whatever..

  2. Blah, blah, blah…Turkey is in denial, why is that news.

  3. “Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it,” the Pope added.

    So why are you denying or concealing the evil committed by those in the west?

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