Vaհe H Apelian
If Pope Francis’ recent Vatican hosting “Christianity in Azerbaijan” conference looks bad, the reality lurking beneath it is even badder. Yes, badder, for it does not merit a proper adjective other than the outright slang, badder.
First lets us come to the picture posted above. A few sites had posted that picture and I did too with a tongue in cheek remark depicting Pope Francis saying “Amen, God bless. Who am I to judge.” The last sentence is a quote from one of the Pope Francis’ utterances.
Looking closely, I became suspicious that the picture may be photo-shopped. The lady next to Aliyev seems to be young enough to be his daughter, not his wife. I took upon myself to search the internet and I came to realize that it is an old picture that was posted in Eurasianet on October 3, 2016, nine years ago (see the link below). The caption reads that the picture is released by the Office of the President of Azerbaijan. If that picture is photo-shopped, the source is the Office of the President of Azerbaijan. So, I kept the picture and felt that it is reasonable to use it to depict the “Christianity in Azerbaijan” conference in the Vatican City.
Armenians world-wide welcomed pope Francis to Armenia with gratitude. Quoting Wikipedia “Pope Francis visited Armenia in June 2016. The trip focused on ecumenical relations, reconciliation, and remembrance of the Armenian Genocide. He arrived in Yerevan on Friday, June 24th, and his itinerary included visiting the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial, holding an outdoor Ecumenical Service and Peace Prayer in Republic Square, and meeting with the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II. The visit also included a meeting with the Armenian Catholic bishops and participation in a Divine Liturgy in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.”
It turns out the globe-trotter Pope Francis, had visited Baku as well a few months later. Alluding to the visit, Eurasianet reported that “At first glance, Azerbaijan, a predominantly Shia Muslim state, seems an unlikely destination for the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. But Pope Francis’ 10-hour visit to Baku on October 2 was not so much about religion as it was about PR payback.”
Is that so?
Pope Francis' Baku visit was a PR payback.
It was a strictly a business visit to Baku. Iդ was not religious and was not in support of Christians in Azerbaijan and for the preservation of churches, monasteries, and Christian monuments in Azerbaijan.
But, what do you know? Pope Francis’ visit to Armenia was strictly religious. Armenia, the first nation to accept Christianity as its state religion, need not have pope visiting it to bolster the Christian faith in Armenia or for the preservation of the many churches, monasteries, and Christian monuments in Armenia.
Why would the head of over 1 billion Catholics visit Baku as a PR payback? What PR? What payback?
Eurasianet article explains it by noting that “Since 2012, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, run by Azerbaijan’s first lady, Mehriban Aliyeva, has donated undisclosed sums to finance restoration work at the Vatican, including repairs to the Sistine Chapel. The Foundation, named in honor of President Ilham Aliyev’s father and predecessor, the late Heydar Aliyev, also has provided funds for other projects, including the restoration of two Vatican catacombs and the preservation and digitization of ancient manuscripts in the Apostolic Library.”
Obviously, Pope Francis and president Ilham Aliyev’s “l scratch your back if you scratch mine” reciprocal agreement had been going since, at least 2012. This “quid pro quo” coziness had been going on way before Pope Francis visiting Armenia in 2016, and the reasons for this coziness, if not known, was well implied and need not need further clarification. But Pope Francis kept total silence on the existential conflict the Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabagh Oblast were facing. Not only did the pope did not mediate in any way, in fact he legitimized Azerbaijan genocidal aims against the native inhabitants of Nagorno Karabagh Oblast. Doing so, Pope Francis is complicit in the genocidal depopulation of the Christian Armenians from their native lands.
But in the greater scheme of thins, Pope Francis is no exception, when it comes to the all redeeming power of Petro Dollars, while he dispenses Heavenly Father’s redemption as God's temporal representative on this earth. But what’s new there? His predecessor granted dispensation to heaven for a fee. After all, the pope holds the keys to Kingdom of Heaven. He has it featured on the Vatican's flag and coat of arms.
The link: Azerbaijan: Papal RR Pays Off:
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