International media about Pope's speech about the Armenian Genocide. Part 1

The Associated Press. Turkey recalls ambassador over pope's Armenia genocide words

Pope Francis on Sunday marked the 100th anniversary of the slaughter of Armenians by calling the massacre by Ottoman Turks "the first genocide of the 20th century" and urging the international community to recognize it as such. Turkey immediately responded by recalling its ambassador and accusing Francis of spreading hatred and "unfounded claims."

Francis issued the pronouncement during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica commemorating the centenary that was attended by Armenian church leaders and President Serge Sarkisian, who praised the pope for calling a spade a spade and "delivering a powerful message to the international community."

"The words of the leader of a church with 1 billion followers cannot but have a strong impact," he told The Associated Press.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Turkey, however, denies a genocide took place. It has insisted that the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

Francis defended his words by saying it was his duty to honor the memory of the innocent men, women and children who were "senselessly" murdered by Ottoman Turks.

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

He said similar massacres are under way today against Christians who because of their faith are "publicly and ruthlessly put to death - decapitated, crucified, burned alive - or forced to leave their homeland," a reference to the Islamic State group's assault against Christians in Iraq and Syria.

Francis called on the world community, heads of state and international organizations to recognize the truth of what transpired to prevent such "horrors" from repeating themselves, and to oppose all such crimes "without ceding to ambiguity or compromise."

Turkey has fiercely lobbied to prevent countries, including the Holy See, from officially recognizing the Armenian massacre as genocide and reacted strongly to Francis' declaration.

"The pope's statement, which is far from historic and legal truths, is unacceptable," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted. "Religious positions are not places where unfounded claims are made and hatred is stirred."

The Foreign Ministry summoned the Vatican's envoy in Ankara, and then announced it was recalling its own ambassador to the Vatican for consultations.

In a statement, the ministry said the Turkish people would not recognize the pope's statement "which is controversial in every aspect, which is based on prejudice, which distorts history and reduces the pains suffered in Anatolia under the conditions of the First World War to members of just one religion."

It accused Francis of deviating from his message of peace and reconciliation during his November visit to Turkey.

Several European countries recognize the massacres as genocide, though Italy and the United States, for example, have avoided using the term officially given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally.

The Holy See, too, places great importance in its relationship with the moderate Muslim nation, especially as it demands that Muslim leaders condemn the Islamic State group slaughter of Christians.

But Francis' willingness to rile Ankara with his words showed once again that he has few qualms about taking diplomatic risks for issues close to his heart. And the massacre of Armenians is indeed close to the Vatican's heart given that Armenia is held up as the first Christian nation, dating from 301.

That said, Francis is not the first pope to call the massacre a genocide. St. John Paul II wrote in a 2001 joint declaration with the Armenian church leader, Karenkin II, that the deaths were considered "the first genocide of the 20th century."

But the context of Francis' pronunciation was different and significant: in St. Peter's during an Armenian rite service with the Armenian church and state leadership in attendance on the 100th anniversary of the slaughter. And his call for international acknowledgement of what happened went beyond what John Paul had written.

Francis' words had a deeply moving effect among Armenians in the basilica, many of whom wept. At the end of the service, the Armenian Apostolic Church's Aram I thanked Francis for his clear condemnation and recalled that "genocide" is a crime against humanity that requires reparation.

The Armenian president, Sarkisian, praised Francis for "calling things by their names."

In the interview, he acknowledged the reparation issue, but said "for our people, the primary issue is universal recognition of the Armenian genocide, including recognition by Turkey."

He dismissed Turkish calls for joint research into what transpired, saying researchers and commissions have already come to the conclusion and there is "no doubt at all that what happened was a genocide."

The lead sponsor of a new U.S. congressional resolution recognizing the genocide, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), said he hoped the pope's words would "inspire our president and Congress to demonstrate a like commitment to speaking the truth about the Armenian genocide and to renounce Turkey's campaign of concealment and denial."

The definition of genocide has long been contentious. The United Nations in 1948 defined genocide as killing and other acts intended to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, but many dispute which mass killings should be called genocide and whether the terms of the U.N. convention on genocide can be applied retroactively.

Reaction to the pope's declaration on the streets in Istanbul was mixed.

"I'm glad he said it," said Aysun Vahic Olger. "When you look at history, there's proof of it."

However, Mucahit Yucedal, 25, said he felt genocide is a "serious allegation."

"I don't support the word genocide being used by a great religious figure who has many followers," he said.

Al Jazeera. Turkey recalls Vatican envoy over Pope genocide comment

Turkey has recalled its ambassador to the Vatican for consultations in an escalating diplomatic row over Pope Francis' use of the word "genocide" to describe the massacres of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

"Our ambassador to the Vatican Mr Mehmet Pacaci is being recalled back to Turkey for consultations," the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday after earlier summoning the Vatican's envoy to Ankara to the ministry.

The ministry said in a statement that the pope's comments were "null and void" to the Turkish people.

The Turkish people would not recognise the pope's statement "which is controversial in every aspect, which is based on prejudice, which distorts history and reduces the pains suffered in Anatolia under the conditions of the First World War to members of just one religion", read the statement.

Francis made the speech at a mass in Saint Peter's Basilica to mark the 100th anniversary of the massacre of as many as 1.5 million Armenians.

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

While Francis did not use his own words to describe the murders as genocide, it was the first time the term was spoken aloud in connection with Armenia by a head of the Roman Catholic Church in Saint Peter's Basilica.

The denial

Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians died in clashes with Ottoman soldiers beginning in 1915, when Armenia was part of the empire ruled from Istanbul, but denies 1.5 million people were killed and that the incidents amounted to genocide.

Pope John Paul II and Armenian Apostolic Church Supreme Patriarch Kerekin II called it "the first genocide of the 20th century" in a joint written statement in 2001.

Francis, who has disregarded many aspects of protocol since becoming pope two years ago, is believed to have uttered the phrase before, but only in a private conversation with an Armenian delegation in 2013, prompting a strong protest from Ankara.

Francis' comments were published by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's office on Sunday.

"We are deeply grateful to His Holiness Pope Francis for the idea of this unprecedented liturgy ... which symbolises our solidarity with the people of the Christian world," Sargsyan said in a speech at a Vatican dinner on Saturday evening.

CNN. Pope Francis uses 'genocide' to refer to mass killings of Armenians by Turks

Pope Francis risked Turkish anger on Sunday by using the word "genocide" to refer to the mass killings of Armenians a century ago under the Ottoman Empire.

"In the past century, our human family has lived through three massive and unprecedented tragedies," the Pope said at a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian massacres.

"The first, which is widely considered 'the first genocide of the 20th century,' struck your own Armenian people," he said, referencing a 2001 declaration by Pope John Paul II and the head of the Armenian church.

His use of the term genocide -- even though he was quoting from the declaration -- upset Turkey.

Diplomatic uproar

The nation recalled its ambassador to the Vatican for "consultations" just hours after Francis' comments, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

Earlier, Turkey summoned the ambassador from the Vatican for a meeting, Turkish state broadcaster TRT reported.

Turkey's former ambassador to the Vatican, Kenan Gursoy, told CNN in a telephone interview that while it is the first time Turkey has summoned its ambassador home from the Vatican, "This does not mean that our diplomatic ties with the Vatican are over."

"Since this is a situation that we do not approve of, as a first reaction, (the ambassador) is summoned to get consultation," Gursoy said, adding that the Pope's use of the word "genocide" was "a one-sided evaluation."

In a tweet Sunday on his official account, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called the Pope's use of the word "unacceptable" and "out of touch with both historical facts and legal basis."

"Religious offices are not places through which hatred and animosity are fueled by unfounded allegations," the tweet reads.

Grateful Armenia

This consternation over the use of the word 'genocide' occurs regularly. And Armenians are equally upset, when Turkey protests it. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian rebuked Turkey.

"We are in a situation in which Turkey speaks a different language from the rest of the international community and it seems that it doesn't understand that it is speaking a different language," he said to Italian News Agency Adnkronos.

"During these past days there have been several international organizations that adopt resolutions or issue statements that recognize the Armenian genocide and that appeal to Turkey to make this step," he said. "The Pope's statement are in this context of universal value. When Turkey is able to understand this, it will be able to understand what the International community and big personalities (or better translations 'leaders') are saying."

More than a million massacred

Armenian groups and many scholars say that Turks planned and carried out genocide, starting in 1915, when more than a million ethnic Armenians were massacred in the final years of the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey officially denies that a genocide took place, saying hundreds of thousands of Armenian Christians and Turkish Muslims died in intercommunal violence around the bloody battlefields of World War I.

The Armenian government and influential Armenian diaspora groups have urged countries around the world to formally label the 1915 events as genocide. Turkey has responded with pressure of its own against such moves.

Pope Francis said Sunday that "Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Greeks" were also killed in the bloodshed a century ago.

He said Nazism and Stalinism were responsible for the other two "massive and unprecedented tragedies" of the past century.

Reuters. Pope sparks row with Turkey by calling Armenian massacre genocide

Pope Francis sparked a diplomatic row on Sunday by calling the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians 100 years ago "the first genocide of the 20th century," prompting Turkey to accuse him of inciting hatred.

Muslim Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians died in clashes with Ottoman soldiers beginning in 1915, when Armenia was part of the empire ruled from Istanbul, but denies hundreds of thousands were killed and that this amounted to genocide.

At an Armenian rite Mass in St. Peter's Basilica to mark the 100th anniversary of the mass killings, Francis became the first head of the Roman Catholic Church to publicly pronounce the word "genocide" to describe them.

Some European and South American countries use the term to describe the killings, but the United States and some others, keen to maintain good relations with an important ally, avoid doing so.

Turkey was swift to protest. "The pope's statements, which are far from historical and judicial facts, cannot be accepted," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on his Twitter account.

"Religious offices are not places to incite hatred and revenge with baseless accusations," he said.

The foreign ministry called its ambassador to the Holy See back to Ankara, and summoned the Vatican's ambassador, saying Francis' remarks had caused a "problem of trust" in diplomatic relations.

Pope John Paul II and Armenian Apostolic Church Supreme Patriarch Kerekin II called the massacre "the first genocide of the 20th century" in 2001, but that was in a joint written statement.

Francis, who has disregarded many aspects of protocol since becoming pope two years ago, uttered the phrase during a private meeting at the Vatican with an Armenian delegation in 2013, prompting a strong protest from Ankara.

As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio had already publicly described the killings as genocide before he was elected leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics in 2013.

In November, the Argentine-born pontiff made an official visit to Turkey as part of his efforts to strengthen relations with moderate Muslim states.

DENYING EVIL

At the start of the commemorative Mass, the pope described the "senseless slaughter" of 100 years ago as "the first genocide of the 20th century" and noted it was followed by Nazism and Stalinism.

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

Francis's comments were also published by Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan's office on Sunday.

"We are deeply grateful to His Holiness Pope Francis for the idea of this unprecedented liturgy ... which symbolizes our solidarity with the people of the Christian world," Sarksyan said in a speech at a Vatican dinner on Saturday evening.

The pope said genocide continues today against Christians "who, on account of their faith in Christ or their ethnic origin, are publicly and ruthlessly put to death - decapitated, crucified, burned alive - or forced to leave their homeland."

Islamic State insurgents have persecuted Shi'ite Muslims, Christians and others who do not share their ultra-radical brand of Sunni Islam as they carved a self-declared caliphate out of swathes of Syria and Iraq, which share borders with Turkey.

Francis also urged reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia, and between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Caucasus mountain region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The appeal came in a letter handed out during a meeting after the Mass to Sarksyan and the three most important Armenian church leaders present.

USA Today. Turkey angry at pope after 'genocide' remarks

Pope Francis on Sunday called the slaughter of up to 1.5 million Armenians the "first genocide of the 20th century," prompting Turkey to recall its ambassador to the Vatican.

Turkey, which denies a genocide took place, swiftly challenged the pope's comments marking 100 years since the start of the killings. Francis made the remarks during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilicaattended by Armenian President Serge Sarkisian.

"The pope's statement which is far from historic and legal truths is unacceptable," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted. "Religious positions are not places where unfounded claims are made and hatred is stirred."

Francis, in his message to the Armenian faithful, said, "Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it," the Associated Press reported.

"A century has passed since that horrific massacre which was a true martyrdom of your people, in which many innocent people died as confessors and martyrs for the name of Christ, " the pope said. "Even today, there is not an Armenian family untouched by the loss of loved ones due to that tragedy: It truly was Metz Yeghern, the 'Great Evil', as it is known by Armenians."

Armenians have long campaigned for recognition that the killings, which happened from 1915 to 1917 under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, constituted genocide.

Armenia — which formally marks the killings on April 24 — and a number of historians say up to 1.5 million people died.

Turkey argues that the number of deaths has been inflated, and the people who died were victims of civil war and unrest during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, not genocide.

The Foreign Ministry said Sunday that the Turkish people would not recognize the pope's statement "which is controversial in every aspect, which is based on prejudice, which distorts history and reduces the pains suffered in Anatolia under the conditions of the First World War to members of just one religion."

The killings are recognized as genocide by a number of countries around the world, but Turkey's allies Italy and the United States have avoided using the contentious term. The United Nations defined genocide as acts intended to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part.

The pope in his Sunday comments referred to "three massive and unprecedented tragedies" in the past century.

"The first, which is widely considered 'the first genocide of the 20th century,' struck your own Armenian people, the first Christian nation, as well as Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Greeks," he said, citing a September 2001 declaration signed by St. John Paul II and Armenian church leader Karenkin II that described the deaths as genocide.

The pontiff also referred to the Holocaust and Stalinism and mass killings in countries including Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia.

Turkey's embassy to the Vatican canceled a planned news conference for Sunday, presumably after learning that the pope would utter the word "genocide" over its objections. Instead, the Foreign Ministry in Ankara issued a terse statement conveying its "great disappointment and sadness." It said the pope's words signaled a loss in trust, contradicted the pope's message of peace and was discriminatory because Francis only mentioned the pain of Christians, not Muslims or other religious groups.

The pope on Sunday also pronounced St. Gregory of Narek — a 10th-century Armenian monk and mystic — a doctor of the church, a title which has been given to just 35 other people.