Laurent Stefanini is definitely a case of discrimination

Laurent Stefanini is a high - level French officer. Practicing Catholic, he has been the First Counselor of the French Embassy at the Vatican from 2001 till 2005, when he has been nominated Counselor for the Religious Affairs at the Foreign Office and then Head of the Protocol at the Elysee.

Few months ago, Stefanini got the prestigious position of Ambassador at the Vatican. But he is still waiting for the accreditation in order to start officially his office.

The problem? Stefanini is homosexual.

Even if Stefanini got the "approval" of the Cardinal of Paris, few days ago the Pope met him in a private audience in which, it seems, Bergoglio declared the impossibility to give him the accreditation.

A State has the right to give or not the accreditation to an ambassador without any motivation, according to the diplomatic right.

The problem is that the Vatican rules are very rigid and overall anachronistic. France and the Catholic Church have seen contrast in the last year, especially for the law approved in 2013 that allows the same-sex marriage.  Anyway, homosexuality touches the private sphere of a person, but we are talking about a public role and a person who has already covered a preeminent position in the same Embassy for many years.

Nevertheless, this case seems a drop in the ocean. It is estimated that around the 20% of the World Population is attracted to their own gender. At the same time, in 78 countries homosexuality is illegal.

Discrimination and intolerance must be condemn without exceptions. Repeating it seems never enough. 

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Are we really talking about the refusal of a Genocide?

Few days ago, Pope Francis has claimed that the Armenian Genocide, in the years 1915-16 when 1,5 million people died under the hand of the Ottoman Empire, has been the first Genocide of the 20th Century.

Armenians marched by Turkish soldiers, 1915

This declarations has caused the severe reaction of the Ankara Government. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted: "The Pope's statement, which is far from the legal and historical reality, cannot be accepted". "Religious authorities are not the places to incite resentment and hatred with baseless allegations". 

Turkey doesn't recognize the Armenian Genocide for two kinds of reasons: from one side, it would mean the identification as killers of the Fathers of the Country (the Young Turks that were leading the Empire during the Genocide). From the other side, it could begin many trials for reimbursements from the victims’families.

Today, there are 22 States in the World that recognize the Armenia Genocide: among them, we find Argentina, Canada, Belgium, France, Italy and Russia. The US Congress has approved a motion that asks the President Obama to recognize the Genocide, but any official declaration came out about this topic.   

Are we really talking about the refusal of a Genocide?

It is not acceptable denying a Genocide. We should be shocked if Germany could say that Nazi Camps are just a lie. We should be shocked for the Armenian Genocide as well.

Turkey is a great and beautiful nation, a rising economic power and a strategic partner for Europe. But a great Country and a mature society should make it up with its past and recognize the mistakes and the horrors of the father's generations. It would release Turkey from one of the darkest page of its history and could honor the memory of those who lost their lives one hundred years ago.

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