VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis uttered the word “genocide” on Sunday to describe the mass murder of Armenians 100 years ago, sparking fury from Turkey which slammed the term as “far from historical reality”.
In a solemn mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica to mark the centenary of the Ottoman killings of Armenians, Francis said the murders were “widely considered ‘the first genocide of the 20th century’,” quoting a statement signed by Pope John Paul II and the Armenian patriarch in 2001. Many historians describe the World War I slaughter as the 20th century’s first genocide, but Turkey hotly denies the accusations.
“The pope’s statement, which is far from the legal and historical reality, cannot be accepted,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter. “Religious authorities are not the places to incite resentment and hatred with baseless allegations,” he added.
The foreign ministry summoned the Vatican envoy to Ankara to explain the pope’s comments. It accused the pontiff of engaging in a “one-sided narrative” that ignored the suffering of Muslims and other religious groups at that time.
While Francis did not use his own words to describe the killings 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.
“It was a very courageous act to repeat clearly that it was a genocide,” Vatican expert Marco Tosatti told AFP. “By quoting John Paul II, he strengthened the Church’s position, making it clear where it stands on the issue,” he added.
The Argentine pope described the “immense and senseless slaughter” and spoke of the duty to “honour their memory, for whenever memory fades, it means that evil allows wounds to fester.”
The 78-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church had been under pressure to use the term “genocide” publicly to describe the slaughter, despite the risk of alienating an important ally in the fight against radicals.
Before becoming pope, Jorge Bergoglio used the word several times in events marking the mass murders, calling on Turkey to recognise the killings as such.
As pope, Francis is said to have used it once during a private audience in 2013 - but even that sparked an outraged reaction from Turkey.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, and have long sought to win international recognition of the massacres as genocide. But Turkey rejects the claims, arguing that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.
More than 20 nations, including France and Russia, recognise the killings as genocide.
Vatican expert John Allen said ahead of the mass that the “truly bold” thing for Francis to do was “show restraint” - something the pope may feel he has achieved by uttering the word “genocide” but only while quoting his Polish predecessor.
When Francis visited Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered the pontiff a pact under which he would defend Christians in the Middle East in exchange for the Church tackling Islamophobia in the West, Allen said - describing it as “a potential game-changer”.
In 2014, Erdogan, then premier, offered condolences for the mass killings for the first time, but the country still blames unrest and famine for many of the deaths.
Francis said the other two genocides of the 20th century were “perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism”, before pointing to more recent mass killings in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia. “It seems that humanity is incapable of putting a halt to the shedding of innocent blood,” he said.
The Armenian victims a century ago were Christian and although the killings were not openly driven by religious motives, the pontiff drew comparisons with modern Christian refugees fleeing Islamic militants.
He referred once again to the modern day as “a time of war, a third world war which is being fought piecemeal”, and evoked the “muffled and forgotten cry” of those “decapitated, crucified, burned alive, or forced to leave their homeland.” “Today too we are experiencing a sort of genocide created by general and collective indifference,” he said. Vatican watcher Marco Politi said the address was typical of a pope who “uses language without excessive diplomatic cares” and whose aim was to “stimulate the international community” to intervene in modern-day persecutions.
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Turkey recalls ambassador over pope's Armenia genocide words
VATICAN CITY (AP) - 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.
AP writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Desmond Butler and Ayse Wieting in Istanbul contributed to this report.
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