Iran Press/ Commentary: Ayatollah Alireza A'rafi, said in the meeting: "After the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution was informed of my visit, extended his greetings and praised your background and your relationship with Latin America, and some of the positions that have been taken in softening the relationship between Islam and Christianity and defending the oppressed and underlined his expectations that you to continue your efforts in defense of the oppressed of the world, especially the people of Palestine and Yemen, and to have a clear and transparent position."
"The Leader of the Revolution expects that action will be taken in defense of the Palestinian people and that the solution will be based on the votes of the people and the elections between all the noble people and the Palestinians, including the followers of all religions in the Palestinian lands."
The Pope, for his part, stated: "Send my greetings to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran and the religious authorities and scholars of Iran. We also accept what the Leader of the Islamic Revolution says."
Religions' effective role in overcoming new-age problems
In the meeting, Ayatollah A'rafi also announced the readiness of seminaries to interact with international scientific-religious institutions, including the Catholic Church, and enumerated the problems the people of the world are facing today: " precariousness regarding divine knowledge and theism, a decline of spirituality and reduction of attachment to the unseen world, weakening of family foundations and the high role and position of women, sanctions and oppressive pressures against nations, poverty and hunger, warmongering, occupation and internationally organized oppression, the destruction of the environment and its negligence by economic powers and the growth of extremism are among the greatest challenges and crises of the new age that cannot be overcome without the effective role of the divine religions. "
The oral message of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to the Pope, the Leader of the Roman Catholic Church, makes sense given the Pope's previous positions on various global issues. The Pope has repeatedly called for the resolution of regional and international crises and the attention of the great powers to global problems. At the same time, the Pope's religious dimension as the Leader of the Roman Catholic Church, which comprises a significant population, has made his discourse influential on a large scale.
Interaction between Islam and Christianity
Among the Pope's measures, which are also mentioned in the message of Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, is the issue of his efforts to soften relations between Islam and Christianity, as well as interfaith dialogue in order to better understand each other and the need for peaceful coexistence between different religions. In February 2019, Pope Francis signed a joint declaration of " HUMAN FRATERNITY FOR WORLD PEACE AND LIVING TOGETHER" with Sheikh Ahmad al-Tayyib, Grand Imam of al-Azhar in Egypt, and while wishing for world peace, condemned religious violence and any other form of violence.
On the other hand, the Pope's position on the issue of Palestine and his condemnation of the criminal actions of the Zionist regime are among his prominent positions on important global issues. Pope Francis condemned the May 2018 massacre of Palestinians on the border between the Occupied Territories and Gaza in protest of the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to A—Quds city, in which some 60 Palestinians were killed, and said the killings only added to the violence and called for dialogue between the parties and the restoration of justice and peace to West Asia.
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Pope Francis made the statements in the Vatican's Saint Peter's Square during the Angelus prayer and noted that he prayed to God to "strengthen in all, rulers and citizens, the courage to oppose violence and to take concrete steps to ease tensions."
"I am very worried about the escalation of tensions in the Holy Land and the Middle East, and about the spiral of violence which moves us ever further away from the path of peace, dialogue and negotiation," he said during his weekly audience at the Vatican.
"I express my great sorrow for the dead and wounded and I am close through prayer and affection to all those who suffer," he added.
No to violence
Francis said violence has never led to peace, calling for "dialogue, justice, and peace," Francis said violence "has never led to peace. War incites war, violence incites violence."
Also, in May 2021, following the brutal attack of the Zionist regime against the Gaza Strip, the Pope called the death of a large number of innocent people, including children, horrible and unacceptable and a sign of the destruction of the future instead of building it, adding: "I do not know where will hatred and resentment lead?"
The Leader's stress on the need for the continuation of the positions of Pope Francis has been in defense of the oppressed of the world, especially Palestine and Yemen, given his approach in this regard.
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Ayatollah Arafi meets Pope Francis in Vatican
