Pope Francis will serve a liturgy in memory of the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide on Sunday, with everyone’s attention on whether he will use the word "genocide," Agence France Presse reports.
“The 78-year old is walking a diplomatic tightrope, pressured to use the term publicly to describe the Ottoman Turk murders, but wary of alienating a potentially key ally in the fight against radical Islam.” the newspaper writes.
Francis and Armenian patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni will serve a liturgy in Saint Peter's Basilica, which will be attended by Armenia’s president Serzh Sargsyan. “The Vatican is holding the mass in time for those in attendance to return home for the official April 24 commemoration,” the newspaper writes.
In fact, even if the Pope pronounces the word “genocide” he will not be the first Pope in doing so: John Paul II used it in a joint statement signed with the Armenian patriarch in 2000 which said "the Armenian genocide, which began the century, was a prologue to horrors that would follow." However, this will be the first time for the 1915 events to be described as such during a mass in Saint Peter's Basilica.
According to religious observers Francis, who stressed the importance of remembering "the martyrdom and persecution" of the Armenians, may make parallels in his homily to the rise in the persecution of Christians around the world. “Those murdered a century ago were mainly Christian and although the killings were not driven by religious motives, the pontiff has already drawn comparisons with modern Christians refugees fleeing Islamic militants,” the author writes.
