CNA Staff, Feb 28, 2024 / 10:30 am
Pope Francis on Wednesday urged the bishops of the Armenian Catholic Church to “take up the cry for peace” amid ongoing threats of conflict and religious persecution in the region.
Armenia and Azerbaijan are engaged in peace talks following Azerbaijan’s violent takeover of the Nagorno-Karabakh region late last year. The region has been a point of contention for years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
All but a few ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region fled their ancestral homeland following Azerbaijan’s takeover. Human rights leaders last year warned of a possible “religious cleansing” of Armenian Christians during the conflict.
In his address on Wednesday, Pope Francis urged the Synod of Bishops of the Patriarchal Church of Cilicia of the Armenians to pray for peace amid the conflict.