Contacts & Publisher

Subscription Form

Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2007 / Catholics won't forget Armenian genocide

Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published November 9, 2007

Robert Delaney | The Michigan Catholic His Holiness Karekin II, supreme patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church, shares a moment with Cardinal Adam Maida after the Oct. 31 luncheon at St. John’s Armenian Church in Southfield.

Southfield — Cardinal Adam Maida placed himself squarely on the Armenian side of the issue of whether the Turkish government committed genocide against the Armenian people during and after the First World War in his Oct. 31 remarks at a luncheon for the Armenian patriarch.

"Your presence among us today allows our Roman Catholic community a privileged opportunity to reflect on our common spiritual heritage and to affirm our solidarity with you and the Armenian Orthodox Apostolic Church, and the gifts and challenges your Church and your nation have faced over the decades, particularly the tragic genocide of 1915-1923," Cardinal Maida told His Holiness Karekin II, supreme patriarch and catolicos of the Armenian Church.

"We stand with you in your efforts to ensure that the world never forgets this atrocity and learns from this sad story to bring an end to all violence, especially that which flows from ethnic, social, or religious motives," Cardinal Maida continued in his remarks at a luncheon for ecumenical leaders at St. John's Armenian Church in Southfield.

Turkey vigorously disputes the characterization of the actions as "genocide," and the U.S. government has shied away from calling the deaths of at least 1.5 million Armenians genocide.

The issue flared up again within the past few weeks when President George W. Bush spoke out against an effort in Congress to officially declare the episode a case of genocide. The U.S. government's reluctance to calling it genocide is widely attributed to not wishing to offend Turkey, which cooperates with America on certain military matters.

Most of the killings occurred in the waning years of the old Ottoman Empire, but tens of thousands took place in the early years of the Turkish Republic.

Cardinal Maida also spoke of Armenia's status as the oldest Christian nation in the world, as he recalled that "1,700 years ago, St. Gregory the Illuminator evangelized the king and people of Armenia."

"The Church in Armenia has truly been a witness for Jesus Christ in the way almost 2 million of your members accepted martyrdom for their faith," he said.

The cardinal praised the Armenian Church for its efforts to rebuild itself "materially and spiritually" since the fall of communism (Armenia had been part of the Soviet Union, but is now an independent republic).

"We commend you for your courageous vision and determination, and the way that you have been able to inspire and motivate many people to collaborate with you in the process of the spirited rebirth of your nation."

And Cardinal Maida said the Catholic Church "looks to the Church in Armenia with great esteem for a variety of reasons."

"Besides your heroic witness of faith during years of suffering and persecution, we also appreciate the way you have preserved ancient practices and traditions in your liturgical life," he said.

Patriarch Karekin, speaking through an interpreter, thanked Cardinal Maida and other ecumenical leaders present, underscoring the Armenian Church's commitment to ecumenical dialogue.

Other Christian leaders present included Melkite Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Nicholas Samra, who is based in Warren, Metropolitan Nicholas of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop Nathaniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church; and prelates and clergy from local Orthodox, Catholic and Episcopal churches.

Patriarch Kerekin's Oct. 30-Nov. 1 Detroit visit was the last stop of a pastoral visitation to Armenian churches in the United States that had begun Oct. 23.

Relations between the Catholic Church and the Armenian Church were strained for many centuries, but a Vatican review of Armenian doctrinal statements in the 1990s resulted in a declaration that the two churches share the same Christian faith.