The Vatican hosted the Memorial Mass

Pope Francis called mass extermination of Armenians “genocide”

In his Sunday sermon, the head of the Catholic world called massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire of the early 20th century “genocide”. On April 12, during the traditional Mass held in St. Peter’s Cathedral, Pope Francis addressed a large audience, including Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and the leaders of the Armenian Church, with a speech about the dangers inherent in the silence of the past, especially so bloody.
“There were three colossal and unprecedented tragedies in the history of the human race,” the pontiff said. He added that the first one, also called “the first genocide of the 20th century”, touched first of all the Armenian people. Two other, according to the Pope, were the crimes of the Nazi and Stalin regimes.
Francis urged the congregation not to forget about the fallen during this terrible time: “We are obliged to honor their memory, it is our duty. Close your eyes to the evil that is happening or deny it – it’s like letting the wound bleed without bandaging. ”
In his sermon, the Pope did not limit himself to mentioning past events, drawing the attention of the flock to more modern tragedies – in particular, the events in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia. “It seems that humanity is not capable of putting an end to the shedding of innocent blood,” the pontiff remarked.