TURKEY-ARMENIA/POPE UPDATE-FILE Pope greets Armenian President during Holy Mass

Record ID: 135096

  • Title: TURKEY-ARMENIA/POPE UPDATE-FILE Pope greets Armenian President during Holy Mass
  • Date: 12th April 2015
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PHOTOGRAPHS OF VICTIMS EXHIBITED IN ARMENIA'S GENOCIDE MUSEUM
  • Embargoed: 27th April 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Armenia
  • Country: Armenia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA5O5ODJR0Q06YT9IVNQ6XFRI8P
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    Pope Francis on Sunday (April 12) commemorated the 100th anniversary of the massacre of as many as 1.5 million Armenians.
    During the ceremony he had some special words for the Armenian President, Serzh Sargsyan.
    "With gratitude for his presence, I greet Mr Serzh Sargsyan, the President of the Republic of Armenia," said the pope.
    "My cordial greeting goes also to my brother Patriarchs and Bishops: His Holiness Kerekin II, Supreme Patriarch and the Catholicos of All Armenians; His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia."
    After the two-and-a-half-hour mass he also had special words for all from Armenia who had travelled to Rome.
    "I also send my warmest greetings to the faithful Armenians that have come to Rome and have participated in a Holy Mass," Francis said from the window of the papal apartments talking to tens of thousands who had gathered in St. Peter's Square.
    The pope described the massacre as "the first genocide of the 20th century", words that are likely to draw an angry reaction from Turkey.
    Muslim Turkey accepts many Christian Armenians died in partisan fighting beginning in 1915, but it denies that hundreds of thousands were killed and that this amounted to "genocide".
    Armenia, some Western historians and foreign parliaments refer to the mass killings of Armenians a century ago as genocide. But the United States and other allies of Turkey refrain from using the word so as not to sour relations with Ankara, an important strategic partner in the Middle East.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Video restrictions: parts of this video may require additional clearances. Please see ‘Business Notes’ for more information.
Register