Pope Francis Describes Armenian Killing as Genocide

Huffington Post
On April 12, Pope Francis has described the killings of the Armenian people by the Ottoman Turks, in 1915, as "the first genocide of the 20th century" which sparked a rift with Turkey. As soon as Turkey heard this, they immediately summoned the Vatican ambassador to complain. "The pope's statement which is far from historic and legal truths is unacceptable," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted. "Religious positions are not places where unfounded claims are made and hatred is stirred." The Pope announced that it was his duty to honor the memory of the 1.5 million men, women and children that were murdered by the Ottoman Turks a 100 years ago. "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. 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. Instead, the Foreign Ministry in Ankara issued a 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. Reaction to the pope's declaration on the streets in Istanbul was mixed. 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." 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.