Speaking after Sunday's service, Pope Francis has recalled the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh and the serious humanitarian challenges facing displaced Armenians.
The Pope also called for the protection of monasteries and religious buildings in the region, says an article published on Vatican News on 15 October.
The article refers to data from the UN refugee agency UNHCR, according to which more than 100 thousand refugees left Artsakh after 23 September.
In his speech, Pope Francis expressed the hope that religious buildings in Nagorno-Karabakh, “being part of the local culture, will receive respect and protection as an expression of faith and brotherhood, which will make it possible to live together in the future, despite all differences.”
“Pope Francis’ call for Azerbaijan to protect houses of worship in Nagorno-Karabakh comes amid Russia’s call for new peace negotiations. However, Armenian Christian refugees are in no hurry to return to the region they have called home for generations...,” the article says.
As indicated in the material, after Nagorno-Karabakh was captured by the Azerbaijani armed forces, Christian organizations are also concerned about the fate of cultural monuments․Joel Veldkamp, a spokesman for the rights group Christian Solidarity International is shocked by the footage of the vandalization of a medieval building։ “I saw a video of a news source that I trust of Azerbaijani troops firing on a 13th-century monastery in Nagorno-Karabakh. That is just the beginning"
The article also quotes Advisor to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev, who claims that the Armenians had nothing to fear, and Artsakh journalist Siranush Sargsyan, who talks about the deaths of her neighbors and acquaintances during the military operation in Artsakh: “My neighbor lost one of his sons. Another one, my history teacher, died and his son was wounded. And this is just from my village. I’ve met several mothers who have lost two sons, three sons.”
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