“The Armenian Genocide is a fact.”

Kenneth Hynek • 27th Nov 2008 • Religion, Catholicism, Religion, Islam, World News, Middle Eastern News, Politics, Middle Eastern Politics, Politics, Religion, World News
Armenia, Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Genocide, Catholic Church, Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I, genocide, Lebanon, Middle East, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope John Paul II, the Church, The Vatican, Turkey, Walter Kasper

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I love it when the Vatican tells it like it is.

The Vatican’s stance on this issue was stated during a visit to Armenia by [late Pope] John Paul II. The pope attended the Armenian Genocide memorial and did use the term Genocide, although this did not please Turkey,” said Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

The cardinal’s remarks came ahead of yesterday’s meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and a group of visiting Armenian clerics led by Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I, the leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Lebanon, Today’s Zaman reports.

“Genocide is not an allegation, but is a reality. This is not an issue of term. It is a historical fact with a lot of victims and this memory needs to be healed. I don’t know what the Vatican can do to ease Turkey-Armenia relations. But this is also an important case for peace in the Middle East. First of all, the Catholic Church sides with the victims. This is the most important principle for us while determining our manners,” the Cardinal said.

The current Pontiff seems to be having a wonderful effect on the spines of his junior officers, so to speak. No doubt, this re-affirmation of the Church’s matter-of-fact position on a murderous tragedy of history will bend many noses in Turkey out of shape (Turkey has long denied that the Armenian Genocide was, in fact, genocide). Sometimes, though, a bit of nose-bending is warranted.

Turkey has to come around and acknowledge the atrocity for what it was, rather than continue attempting to sweep it under the rug. And it has to acknowledge the atrocity not so that it can be condemned for it now, because it is both pointless and immoral to condemn the living for the sins of their long-dead ancestors. It is, however, necessary for the admission to be made if any hope of healing the deep rift that divides the Armenians from the Turks is to exist.