In reference to the Ottoman Turks’ genocidal slaughter of the Armenian people in 1915-1918, Armenian Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX said of remarks by Pope Francis, “[He] spoke following his conscience, he repeated what he already had told us two years ago, and no one can expect to silence the Pope’s conscience.”

Patriarch Bedros is the leader of the Armenian Catholic Church and his comments from the weekend were reported by the Vatican’s Fides news agency. On Sunday, April 12, Pope Francis marked the 100th anniversary of the persecution of the Armenians by calling it “the first genocide of the 20th century.”

In protest, Turkey recalled its ambassador from the Vatican and accused the Pope of spreading “unfounded claims.”

The Armenian Genocide has long been a contentious issue for Turkey and Armenia but most scholars agree that what occurred 100 years ago was genocide, Turkey refuses to admit the “genocide” even though Argentina, Germany, Russia and many other countries have acknowledged it, with the notable exclusion of the United States.

Turkey does not deny that many Armenians were killed or died during a time of World War I when there were many refugees and civil unrest.

“Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century,” the Associated Press reported.