REPRESENTATIVE OF VATICAN: GENOCIDE IS NOT AN ALLEGATION, BUT A REALITY
ArmInfo
2008-11-25 17:12:00
ArmInfo. "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", – Cardinal Walter Kasper, president
of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said.
As the Turkish newspaper Today’s Zaman reports with reference to
Anatolia news agency, Kasper said: "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 Vatican’s stance on this issue was stated at the time during a
visit to Armenia by [late Pope] John Paul II. The pope visited the
genocide monument there and used the word ‘genocide,’ although this
did not please Turkey.
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.
To recall, in May 2008, taking part in a public audience by Pope
Benedict XVI, the head of the Armenian Church urged all countries to
recognize that Turks committed genocide against Armenians early in
the last century. Karekin II then appealed "to all nations and lands
to universally condemn all genocides that have occurred throughout
history," saying that "denial of these crimes is an injustice that
equals the commission of the same."