In a season dominated by headlines about violence, anger, and disunity, Pope Francis heads to Armenia for three days to underscore Christian collaboration and common roots Victor Gaetan writes in National Catholic Register.
In his words, the Pope will visit a Caucasus region which the analytics consider a dangerous regional flashpoint.
The Pope will start his visits with Armenia, the first country to officially adopt Christianity in 301 AD, long before the Roman Empire.
“Religious identity is one of the major explanations for how Armenians have maintained strong cultural continuity, generation after generation, wherever they live,” the author writes, telling about the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Turkey.
Gaetan considers striking the extent to which the Armenian Apostolic Church is hosting the Pope. A special logo has even been developed for the visit.
Apart from this, the article notes that Pope Francis - as is often the case - is following the footsteps of St. John Paul II, who visited Armenia in 2001.
“However, Pope Francis was the first pope to say the word “genocide” out loud, at a memorial Mass for Armenian victims last April at St. Peter’s Basilica,” the author writes.
Since the Pope has a conviction that the happening constituted genocide, he is ready to face reactions such as the Turkish government’s protest last year.
