April 24th marks centennial of massacre of 1.5 million people. The Armenian genocide was one of the greatest tragedies to mankind during the 20th century. However, many countries fail to recognize it as a genocide–a mass killing of a group.

Being enrolled in a sociology of terrorism and genocide class this semester, I have learned of evils from around the world–the Armenian genocide being one of them. One thing that sticks to me is the quote by George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Keeping that in mind, I think that denying the Armenian genocide for what it was is only serving as a foundation for similar events to occur.

Recently, Pope Francis publicly acknowledged the 100th year anniversary of the massacre and called it, “the first genocide of the 20th century.” He urged the international community to recognize it as such. Following this statement by the Pope, Turkey recalled their ambassador to the Vatican and accused Pope Francis of spreading hatred and “unfounded claims.” (New York Times, April 12).

Pope Francis’ remarks as well as the controversy they provoked serve as a vital point in our time. A leader of a church with over 1 billion followers worldwide speaks volumes. It is important to recognize history, learn from it and keep it from happening again.