"The Pope replied to the invitation from the Armenian Catholic Church a year ago through the Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX to celebrate a mass for the recognition of the Genocide," stated the pastor of Narek, Pablo Hakimian, when asked by Prensa Armenia.
During the meeting with the Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni in June last year, Francisco also received the daughter of a surviving family of the Armenian genocide, he heard her, took her hand and said: "It was the first genocide of the twentieth century." This gesture draw criticism from Turkey, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement considering that "the expressions of Pope Francis are absolutely unacceptable."
