Pope Francis, during the mass at the St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, made clear that world leaders who avoid the word “genocide” are cowards, Truth Revolt reported.

According to the newspaper, the blunt-speaking Pope on Sunday set off a diplomatic row by calling the slaughter of Armenians during World War I “the first genocide of the 20th century.”

Politicians including George W. Bush and Barack have refrained from using the word, fearing political fallout.

As per the author of the Truth Revolt article, Pope Francis, however, had no such fears. 

“And he used the same terminology – ‘complicit silence’ -- that he has hitherto reserved for denouncing slaughter of Christians and other religious minorities by Islamic extremists,” the article specifically wrote.