"In the past century,
our human family has lived through three massive and unprecedented
tragedies," the Pope said at a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica to
commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian massacres.
"The
first, which is widely considered 'the first genocide of the 20th
century,' struck your own Armenian people," he said, referencing a 2001
declaration by Pope John Paul II and the head of the Armenian church.
His use of the term genocide -- even though he was quoting from the declaration -- upset Turkey.
Diplomatic uproar
The
nation recalled its ambassador to the Vatican for "consultations" just
hours after Francis' comments, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
Earlier, Turkey summoned the ambassador from the Vatican for a meeting,
Turkish state broadcaster TRT reported.
Turkey's
former ambassador to the Vatican, Kenan Gursoy, told CNN in a telephone
interview that while it is the first time Turkey has summoned its
ambassador home from the Vatican, "This does not mean that our
diplomatic ties with the Vatican are over."
"Since
this is a situation that we do not approve of, as a first reaction,
(the ambassador) is summoned to get consultation," Gursoy said, adding
that the Pope's use of the word "genocide" was "a one-sided evaluation."
In a tweet Sunday on his official account,
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called the Pope's use of the
word "unacceptable" and "out of touch with both historical facts and
legal basis."
"Religious offices are not places through which hatred and animosity are fueled by unfounded allegations," the tweet reads.
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