In 2000 , John Paul II officially recognized the Armenian Genocide , an opposing position to that of the Turkish government which has deployed much of its political energies in having the events in Armenia remain unrecognized by the international community . On 12 April 2015 , Pope Francis used the term ' genocide ' to refer to mass killings of Armenians by Turks . In response , Turkey recalled its ambassador to the Vatican for " consultations " just hours after Francis ' comments , and summoned the ambassador from the Vatican for a meeting . Also , on June 24 , 2016 , Pope Francis in another speech described the killing of Armenians as a genocide . In addition , the Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi , told the reporters that " There is no reason not to use this word in this case , " " The reality is clear and we never denied what the reality is . " Turkey condemned the declaration as “ very unfortunate ” and also said that it bore traces of “ the mentality of the Crusades . ” The Holy See has not taken a strong position on EU membership for Turkey , although Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was said to be hostile to it in a book he published before becoming Pope , and felt that Turkey should instead focus on relations with nearby Middle Eastern States . However , during his 2006 trip to Turkey as Pope Benedict XVI , he came out in support of Turkeys EU membership . Tarcisio Bertone , the Holy See 's Secretary of State , has voiced the opinions of the Apostolic See on these matters
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Holy See–Turkey relations