Religious leader of the Catholic World, Pope Francis is preparing to canonize Catholic clergyman and Assyrian Archbishop Mikhayelis Flavianus Melki, who was killed in Mardin in 1915.

As reports “Armenpress”, Italy’s La Stampa newspaper writes that this will deepen already tense relations between Ankara and the Vatican. During the Holy Mass that was organized on the occasion of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide at St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pope had demanded that Turkey recognize the genocide perpetrated in the twilight of the Ottoman Empire. This led to a crisis between Turkey and the Vatican, after which Ankara recalled its Ambassador to the Vatican.

In the year marking the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, Pope Francis views Melki as a victim of genocide. Melki was arrested by the Turkish authorities on 29 August 1915 and was executed along with Armenian Catholic clergyman Jacques Abraham for not converting to Islam.

Pope Francis has declared that executing a person for faith is an unacceptable crime, and has asked the Canonization Committee to prepare the necessary documents for his canonization. The Italian newspaper reports that the ceremony of Melki’s canonization will most likely take place in October.

La Stampa has interpreted the Pope’s decision as counterinfluence to the uproar caused by the crimes and persecutions against Christian minorities in the Near East. Earlier, in 2001, Pope John Paul II had also canonized Armenian Catholic clergyman Ignacio Maloian killed in the Ottoman Empire.