Nanjing Massacre Was  Peanut

 

Pope Calls Armenian Slaughter ‘1st Genocide of 20th Century’

Turkey says "where got ?"

(VATICAN CITY) — Pope Francis sparked a diplomatic incident with Turkey on Sunday by calling the slaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turks “the first genocide of the 20th century” and urging the international community to recognize it as such.

土耳其强烈不满教皇“种族灭绝”说法

教皇方济各用“种族灭绝”来形容亚美尼亚大屠杀。

罗马天主教教皇方济各周日（4月12日）使用“种族灭绝”一词，来形容百年前的发生在奥斯曼土耳其帝国属国亚美尼亚的大屠杀；　土耳其已经紧 急召回驻梵蒂冈大使以示抗议。

亚美尼亚和很多历史学家表示，在1915年有多达150万人被土耳其奥斯曼帝国杀害。

土耳其方面一直否认说当时的杀戮是种族灭绝。

亚米尼亚总统也参加了在圣伯多禄大教堂举行纪念亚美尼亚大屠杀100周年的弥撒。方济各在弥撒中说，人类在过去一个世纪经历了3起前所未有的 重大悲剧。

方济各引述约翰保罗二世和亚美尼亚主教2000年签署的声明说：“第一起，也就是被广泛认为是‘20世纪的第一起种族灭绝大屠杀’，伤害了你 们亚美尼亚人民。”

方济各还提及了“由纳粹主义和斯大林主义所犯下”的罪行。

方济各表示，纪念那些被杀害的人士是自己的职责。

2014年，土耳其总理埃尔多安首次向那些遭到杀害的亚美尼亚人的子孙表达了慰问。

亚米尼亚称，奥斯曼土耳其帝国于1915至1916年，有高达150万人遭到屠杀。长期以来，亚美尼亚人一直寻求国际承认这是一起种族灭绝屠 杀事件。

很多非土耳其的学者认为这是种族灭绝大屠杀，但是土耳其方面则表示，很多人在第一次世界大战期间遭到杀害，而有很多土耳其人也在其中受害。


Francis, who has close ties to the Armenian community from his days in Argentina, defended his pronouncement by saying it was his duty to honor the memory of the innocent men, women and children who were “senselessly” murdered by Ottoman Turks 100 years ago this month.

“Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it,” he said at the start of a Mass in the Armenian Catholic rite in St. Peter’s Basilica honoring the centenary.

In a subsequent message directed to all Armenians, Francis called on all heads of state and international organizations to recognize the truth of what transpired and oppose such crimes “without ceding to ambiguity or compromise.”

Turkey, which has long denied a genocide took place, immediately summoned the Vatican ambassador to express its displeasure, a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Ankara said on customary condition of anonymity.

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, has insisted that the toll has been inflated, and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest, not genocide. It has fiercely lobbied to prevent countries, including the Holy See, from officially recognizing the Armenian massacre as genocide.

Turkey’s embassy to the Holy See canceled a planned news conference for Sunday, presumably after learning that the pope would utter the word “genocide” over its objections.

Francis’ words had immediate effect in St. Peters, bolstering the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Aram I, to thank Francis for his clear condemnation and recall that “genocide” is a crime against humanity that requires reparation.

“International law spells out clearly that condemnation, recognition and reparation of a genocide are closely interconnected,” Aram said in English at the end of the Mass to applause from the pews.

Speaking as if he were at a political rally, Aram said the Armenian cause is a cause of justice, and that justice is a gift of God. “Therefore, the violation of justice is a sin against God,” he said.

The pope’s declaration prompted mixed reactions in the streets in Istanbul. Some said they supported it, but others did not agree.

“I don’t support the word genocide being used by a great religious figure who has many followers,” said Mucahit Yucedal, 25. “Genocide is a serious allegation.”

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 Muslim leaders condemn the slaughter of Christians by Muslim extremists in neighboring Iraq and Syria.

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. He took a similar risk by inviting the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to pray together for peace at the Vatican — a summit that was followed by the outbreak of fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Francis is not the first pope to call the massacre a genocide. In his remarks, Francis cited a 2001 declaration signed by St. John Paul II and the Armenian church leader, Karenkin II, which said the deaths were considered “the first genocide of the 20th century.”

But the context of Francis’ pronunciation was significant: He uttered the words during an Armenian rite Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica marking the 100th anniversary of the slaughter, alongside the Armenian Catholic patriarch, Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Armenian Christian church leaders and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who sat in a place of honor in the basilica.

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.

In his remarks Sunday, Francis said the Armenian slaughter was the first of three “massive and unprecedented” genocides last century that was followed by the Holocaust and Stalinism. He said other mass killings had followed, including in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia.

“It seems that the human family has refused to learn from its mistakes caused by the law of terror, so that today too there are those who attempt to eliminate others with the help of a few and with the complicit silence of others who simply stand by,” he said.

Francis has frequently denounced the “complicit silence” of the world community in the face of the modern-day slaughter of Christians and other religious minorities by Islamic extremists.

During Sunday’s Mass, Francis also honored the Armenian community at the start of the Mass by pronouncing a 10th-century Armenian mystic, St. Gregory of Narek, a doctor of the church. Only 35 people have been given the title, which is reserved for those whose writings have greatly served the universal church.

The Mass was rich in traditional Armenian music, with haunting hymns used at key points. Children dressed in traditional costumes presented the gifts at the altar, which was bathed in a cloud of incense.