AAA praises Pope's Genocide recognition efforts

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) strongly supports the Pope Francis' call on the international community to take action.

On Monday, September 7, Pope Francis celebrated Mass, in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence in Vatican City, with the recently-elected Armenian Patriarch of Cilicia, His Beatitude Gregory Peter XX Ghabroyan, as well as with the Bishops of Synod of the Apostolic Armenian Catholic Church and the Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri.

During the Mass, Pope Francis spoke about the persecution of Christians throughout history, specifically referencing the 1915 Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey, and drew parallels to Christian persecution today in the Middle East. Indeed, the ongoing refugee crisis caused by the wars in Syria and Iraq must be addressed and could have been prevented. Equally troubling are the renewed attacks on the Kurds and threats to Armenians in Turkey. "We must turn these districts into Armenian and Kurdish cemeteries," Turkish ultra-nationalists chanted in the Armenian populated district of Istanbul this week.

As previously noted, Pope Francis is not the first leader of the Catholic Church to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. In 2001, Pope John Paul II offered his own acknowledgement of the genocide and prayer for the victims. The Papacy itself has a long history of condemning the atrocities as far back as 1915.

"The Armenian Assembly of America greatly appreciates Pope Francis for his acknowledgement and reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide," stated Assembly board co-chairmen Anthony Barsamian and Van Krikorian. "One hundred years after the Armenian Genocide, the Pontiff calls on leaders of nations and the perpetrator state to heal the wounds and prevent mass atrocities against those who suffer in the region today, whether they be Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Yezidi. We commend Armenia for taking in thousands of refugees and urge the United States to take a greater role as the refugee crisis spreads and more importantly address the root causes."