Cardinal Koch on the Armenian Genocide: It is the duty of the entire human family to recall all that has taken place

Exclusive interview with Kurt Cardinal Koch, the President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Panorama.am: Your Eminence, You were in Armenia five years ago to deliver the message on behalf of the Holy Father and partake at the Centennial events held in Yerevan and
St. Etchmiadzin. How do you see the role of the Church and governments to stop the negation and revisionism of the history and decrease regional tensions, open the door to improved relations and thus contribute to end the cycle of the genocide?.

Cardinal Koch: Church is not a political organization, but a spiritual one continuing on earth the salvific mission of Christ. An important aspect of this mission is a prophetic one, implemented in denouncing injustice and violence whenever it occurs in the present, but also to recall those of the past, as mentioned Pope Francis in his message for the 100th anniversary of “Metz Yeghern”. From this point of view, it is the duty not only of the Armenian people, but also of the universal Church, and in fact of the entire human family, to recall all that has taken place, so that the warnings from this tragedy will protect us from falling into a similar horror, which offends against God and human dignity. On the other side the role of the Church is also to help the process of healing memories. The memory of many Christian communities remains wounded by a history of religious and national conflict. However, when communities on opposing sides of historical divisions are able to come together in a common rereading of history, a reconciliation of memories is made possible.

Panorama.am: Today, the Christion minorities, and in particular Armenians, in war torn countries like Syria, Iraq continue to suffer as a result of the same criminal polices conducted 105 years ago. We witness physical extermination of the Christians and their spiritual and cultural heritage. This situation has already left an irreversible impact on the region’s demography, threatening the Christianity in its historic cradle. What can be done more throug...