FRENCH LAW TO RECOGNISE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CRITICISED

The Universe, UK
Oct 21 2006

By The Universe: Plans to introduce legislation in France which would
make it illegal to deny that the massacre of Catholic Armenians living
under the rule of the Ottoman Empire as genocide have been criticised
by a leading member of the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Apostolic Vicar of Anatolia, Luigi Padovese, said the law,
which was approved by France’s lower house of parliament last week,
has been engineered just to "humiliate Turks." The bill still needs
to be passed by the upper house senate to become law.

"Even the fact that French president Jacques Chirac has taken a stance
against the bill is significant," said Padovese.

"The Christian reality in Turkey is very complex. There are Catholics
– both Latin and Orthodox – there’s the [Orthodox] Ecumenical
Patriarchy [of Constantinople (Istanbul)] and the one in Antioch,
Armenian Catholics, Gregorians, Chaldeans Sirio-Orthodox and other
denominations that participate in our liturgy (services).

"There is a significant number of families who were originally
Christian, but out of necessity and for reasons of survival,
they renounced their religious identity, at least from showing it
externally," he added.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress