
AVİM
14.04.2015
Last Sunday, on 12 April 2015, a Holy Mass was led by Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1915 events. During the ceremony, Pope Francis declared Saint Gregory of Narek, a tenth-century monk and the author of the “Book of Prayers / Book of Lamentations”, a Doctor of the Universal Church. The President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I, Patriarch of Cilicia of Armenian Catholics Nerses Bedros XIX and Catholicosates of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Patriarchate of the Armenian Catholic Church were also present in the liturgy.
In the liturgy, Pope Francis stated: “This faith also accompanied and sustained your people during the tragic experience one hundred years ago “in what is generally referred to as the first genocide of the twentieth century”.
Pope Francis usage of the term genocide raised cheerful approval of the Armenians and the strong reaction of Turkey. Pope’s controversial statement also initiated some debates in different countries such as Italy and Germany.
A day after the Liturgy in Vatican, On 13 April 2015, Associated Press (AP) reported that the UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric made some comments on this liturgy. The AP quoted Dujarric saying that the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “isn’t supporting Pope Francis' description of the killings as ‘the first genocide of the 20th century’”.
The AP reported that[1]:
[Dujarric] said the secretary-general firmly believes that the commemoration and continuing cooperation between Armenians and Turks "with a view to establishing the facts about what happened should strengthen our collective determination to prevent similar atrocity crimes from ever happening in the future.
Dujarric said in response to a question that Ban did not envision an international commission to examine the facts, saying: "There've been discussions with the countries concerned, and communities concerned and I think it's important that those discussions continue."
He sidestepped several questions on whether the secretary-general agreed with the pope's(SIC!) characterization, and whether Francis was right to raise the issue.
The AP also reported that the spokesperson of the EU Foreign Affairs Maja Kocijancic said “the EU encourages the countries ‘to consider additional, meaningful steps that would pave the way toward full reconciliation’.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s comment constitutes an important correction to Pope Francis’s ill-informed statements during a Holy Mass.
[1] http://bigstory.ap.org/article/eafc8e0518c441f380e4dbf50ae2aeba/un-chief-1915-slaughters-armenians-are-atrocity-crimes
© 2009-2025 Center for Eurasian Studies (AVİM) All Rights Reserved
No comments yet.
-
LETTER BY ATTORNEY BRUCE FEIN IN THE INTEREST OF HISTORICAL AND LEGAL TRUTH
AVİM 24.05.2023 -
TANER AKÇAM’S ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN CONTINUES
AVİM 07.03.2019 -
ARMENIA IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK
AVİM 14.05.2024 -
COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CENTER FOR EURASIAN STUDIES AND THE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS OF NATIONAL CHENG-CHI UNIVERSITY (NCCU) OF TAIWAN
AVİM 21.10.2013 -
RESOLUTIONS ON 1915 CAME ONE AFTER ANOTHER FROM U.S. SENATE
AVİM 30.12.2019
-
THE NECESSITY TO OPEN THE ARCHIVES AND ESTABLISH A JOINT COMMISSION OF HISTORIANS AND EXPERTS HAVE COME TO THE FORE ONCE AGAIN
Alev KILIÇ 21.12.2012 -
FORGETFULNESS OF POPE FRANCIS AND PRESIDENT GAUCK: ACCIDENTAL OR WILLFUL?
Turgut Kerem TUNCEL 14.05.2015 -
ARMENIAN ECONOMY NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO FISH NOT CHARITIES FROM DIASPORA
AVİM 12.10.2018 -
POLITICAL INSTABILITY BRINGS OBSTACLES TO MOLDOVA ON THE WAY TOWARDS THE EU
Gülperi GÜNGÖR 23.06.2020 -
SOUTH AFRICANS VOTE AS ZUMA SEEKS SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT
Hande Apakan 06.05.2014
-
THE ARMENIAN QUESTION - BASIC KNOWLEDGE AND DOCUMENTATION -
THE TRUTH WILL OUT -
RADİKAL ERMENİ UNSURLARCA GERÇEKLEŞTİRİLEN MEZALİMLER VE VANDALİZM -
PATRIOTISM PERVERTED -
MEN ARE LIKE THAT -
BAKÜ-TİFLİS-CEYHAN BORU HATTININ YAŞANAN TARİHİ -
INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS ON THE EVENTS OF 1915 -
FAKE PHOTOS AND THE ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA -
ERMENİ PROPAGANDASI VE SAHTE RESİMLER -
A Letter From Japan - Strategically Mum: The Silence of the Armenians -
Japonya'dan Bir Mektup - Stratejik Suskunluk: Ermenilerin Sessizliği -
Anastas Mikoyan: Confessions of an Armenian Bolshevik -
Sovyet Sonrası Ukrayna’da Devlet, Toplum ve Siyaset - Değişen Dinamikler, Dönüşen Kimlikler -
Ermeni Sorunuyla İlgili İngiliz Belgeleri (1912-1923) - British Documents on Armenian Question (1912-1923) -
Turkish-Russian Academics: A Historical Study on the Caucasus -
Gürcistan'daki Müslüman Topluluklar: Azınlık Hakları, Kimlik, Siyaset -
Armenian Diaspora: Diaspora, State and the Imagination of the Republic of Armenia -
ERMENİ SORUNU - TEMEL BİLGİ VE BELGELER (2. BASKI)
-
CONFERENCE TITLED “HUNGARY’S PERSPECTIVES ON THE TURKIC WORLD"