The Vatican’s Duty to Armenian Christians

(Excerpt) Last month, in one of the first liturgical acts of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV formally took possession of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, one of the four major basilicas of Rome. The act had great symbolic importance, not only because it affirmed Leo’s pastoral authority as bishop of Rome. The Apostle Paul, whose evangelizing mission extended from Jerusalem to the Eastern Mediterranean and, ultimately, to Rome, is buried within the basilica, which has recently come to stand, in part, for the Catholic Church’s outreach to the wider Christian world, including the Christian East. Taking possession of the basilica thus had symbolic implications for ecumenism as well—of bridge-building between East and West. Unfortunately, that symbolism has been complicated by a controversy that unfolded during the waning days of the last pontificate. The controversy relates to the funding of recent restoration work at St. Paul’s by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, a state-sponsored organization run by the ruling family of Azerbaijan. There is nothing necessarily troubling about such an arrangement. Rome’s ancient churches require constant maintenance, and the Holy See has long accepted donations from governments and private entities around the world. But in light of recent events in the Caucasus, the association with Azerbaijan has raised serious questions that touch on the credibility of the Catholic Church’s ecumenical witness.