Iran Press/ Europe: Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, director of Iran's seminaries, and Pope Francis, the Bishop of Rome and the head of the Catholic Church, stressed the importance of interaction and synergy among religions in a meeting in the Vatican.
Ayatollah Arafi and Pope Francis also condemned the atrocities against the world's oppressed people.
Ayatollah Arafi's visit to the Holy See coincided with the commemorations of the 33rd anniversary of the demise of Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Iran and the Vatican established full diplomatic ties in 1954, and the bond has remained uninterrupted ever since. Not many reflect on the fact that the Vatican and Iran both represent spiritual traditions that have much more in common than might initially come to mind.
On Sunday evening, Arafi paid a visit to the Imam Mahdi Islamic Center, where he met with members of Rome's Shia community. Here, the cleric attended a commemoration of the late leader of Iran's 1979 revolution.
The commemoration held at the Imam Mahdi Islamic Center was also attended by Iran's diplomats and Rome's Palestinian community representatives.
There was much anticipation at the center for Ayatollah Arafi's visit.
In November 2020, Ayatollah Arafi sent a letter to the Holy See in which he expressed his concerns regarding insults made against Prophet Mohammad (Peace upon Him) and the hatred expressed by some magazines, journalists, and political figures in different societies.
In response to the letter, three months later, Pope Francis replied to the Iranian cleric, saying he was concerned for those affected by aggression and insults of religious figures, symbols, and sentiments.
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