On Sunday Pope Francis spoke on the 100th anniversary of massacre of Armenian Christians at the hands of Ottoman Turks. The Pope described the actions of the Ottoman Turks as genocide, which Turkish nationals took offensively.
"In the past century, our human family has lived through three massive and unprecedented tragedies," said the Pope. "The first, which is widely considered the first genocide of the 20th century, struck your own Armenian people," he said.
Turkey ordered its ambassador to the Vatican to return home after the Pope's statement. Mevlut Cavusoglu, Foreign Minister of Turkey, commented on the Pope's choice of words. On his Twitter, Cavusoglu wrote that "the Pope's statement, which is out of touch with both historical facts and legal basis, is simply unacceptable." He also wrote, "Religious offices are not places through which hatred and animosity are fueled y unfounded allegations." Some believe that Turkey is not permanently withdrawing relations with the Vatican, but recalled the ambassador to discuss actions that should be taken.
The Turkish government denies that a genocide against the Armenian people took place. They argue that both Christian Armenians as well as Islamic Turks were killed in conflict around World War I. Armenian groups, however, claim that a genocide indeed took place. Historical scholars side with the Armenian view, stating that some 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of Ottoman Turks 100 years ago.
Armenian leaders expressed gratitude towards the Pope's remarks at the Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. President Serge Sarkisian and Armenian church leaders attended the Mass and commended Pope Francis. The Armenian President stated that he was glad the Pope was able to speak clearly and truthfully.
The Pope did not end with the description of the Armenian genocide, but also mentioned the current persecution faced by Christians today. He referred to the Christians in Syria and Iraq who have been "publicly and ruthlessly put to death "” decapitated, crucified, burned alive "” or forced to leave their homeland."
Pope Francis urged the global community to realize that such genocides occurred, and are still occurring today. He stressed the need to fight against such crimes.
