The editorial Guerini e Associati of Milan has recently published the book La Santa Sede e lo sterminio degli Armeni nell' Impero Ottomano (The Holy See and the extermination of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire), by Valentina Vartui Karakhanian and Omar Viganò.
The text focuses on the diplomatic mission of the Vatican to the Ottoman
Empire during World War I and the activity of Cardinal Angelo Maria Dolci, papal nuncio in Constantinople.
Karakhanian and Viganò are researchers of the Vatican Secret Archives
who have gathered every document the Holy See possesses on the Armenian
Genocide.
The reader is able to see the difficulty of
Dolci’s position during the extermination of Armenians in the western
regions of Turkey, hundreds of kilometers away from the capital. When
Dolci began to realize what was happening, he made every effort to hold talks not only with the Ottoman authorities, but also with their
Austrian and German allies.
His letters and documents show the efforts exerted by him towards
saving both Armenians and other Christians despite his limited powers
and financial means.
To the dissatisfaction of Ottoman officials, Dolci addressed
his letters directly to the sultan in order to avoid possible
censorship.
The efforts of the Vatican can be seen more apparently in the context
of their isolation, since the Western superpowers then cared more for
their strategic interests than the fate of their brothers in faith, the
book review published in the daily La Stampa observed.
The book has been published “in loving memory of blessed Nerses Bedros XIX, patriarch of Catholic Armenians, who passed away in 2015.”
"Asbarez," March 6, 2017
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