Your trusted source

NY Times columnist Elizabetta Povoledo published an article  in the newspaper on Pope’s mention of the word ‘genocide’ in his speech during the visit of Armenia.

Though the prepared text of his speech did not include the politically contentious word, which generally draws furious reactions from Turkey, “Pope Francis waded into turbulent geopolitical waters once again on Friday during his first visit to Armenia when he made an unscripted remark referring to the World War I-era massacre of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks as a genocide”.

“There was no immediate reaction from Turkish leaders. Turkey has disputed the genocide designation, arguing that it was wartime and that many Turks were killed as well. And it has insisted that there was never a systematic plan to execute Armenians,” the author writes.

To remind, the last time Francis used the term in reference to the mass deaths of Armenians, in Rome in April 2015, Turkey reacted angrily, recalling its ambassador to the Vatican and not returning the envoy for 10 months.

Originally, the Pope had planned to include Georgia and Azerbaijan in his trip, but visits to those countries have been postponed until autumn.