CARDINAL WALTER KASPER: VATICAN LABELS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AS FACT

armradio.am
25.11.2008 13:08

A high-ranking Vatican official has emphasized that the Holy See
regards the Armenian Genocide as "a fact," Today’s Zaman reported.

"The Armenian genocide is a fact. The Vatican’s stance on this issue
was stated at the time during a visit to Armenia by [late Pope]
John Paul II.

The pope visited the genocide monument there and used the word
genocide, although this did not please Turkey," Cardinal Walter Kasper,
President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity,
was quoted as saying in remarks to Vatican Radio.

The cardinal’s remarks came ahead of yesterday’s meeting between
Pope Benedict XVI and a group of visiting Armenian clerics led by
Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I, the leader of the Armenian Apostolic
Church in Lebanon.

"Genocide is not an allegation, but is a reality. This is not an
issue of term. It is a historical fact with a lot of victims and this
memory needs to be healed. I don’t know what the Vatican can do to
ease Turkey-Armenia relations. But this is also an important case
for peace in the Middle East.

First of all, the Catholic Church sides with the victims. This is
the most important principle for us while determining our manners,"
Kasper said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress