"The Churches, the religions, the States must acknowledge all genocides, including the Armenian genocide, and must work to prevent any genocide by asserting the rights of all peoples to dignity, freedom and self-determination. All this is crucial to a world of peace". It was said this morning by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenians, as he met Pope Benedict XVI with a delegation of six archbishops and two bishops of the Armenian Church of Kuwait and the Emirates, of Cyprus, Canada, the United States and Lebanon. "Today’s world, with its desperate need for justice and reconciliation said the Catholicos , calls our Churches to become the genuine heralds of peace, promoting human rights, working for the justice of those who are denied justice, and pursuing peace and reconciliation in situations of tension and conflict". A large part of the speech of His Holiness Aram I to the Pope was about ecumenical dialogue. The Catholicos assured the Holy Father of the commitment of the Armenian Church and the "firm belief that ecumenism is crucial to the life and mission of the Churches, in this day and age". And he added: "Despite the remarkable progress made in the ecumenical field and in multilateral and bilateral theological dialogue, the world of Christianity is still divided". (continued)
