Francis met in the small room in the Paul VI Hall with participants in a colloquium organised by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis before today’s general audience spoke to participants of a colloquium organised by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation.
In the meeting held in the small room next to the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father thanked them for their show “of good will towards dialogue” and expressed his appreciation for the visit. He also mentioned his “great joy" when he met with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani in the Vatican, last 26 January.
He also said that he had "very good impression" of the culture of this country when he met, always at the Vatican, Iran's vice president, Ms. Shahindokht Molaverdi, on 12 February 12 2015.
"This impressed me positively, a lot, and I was satisfied. I like to see you here today, as well as this important dialogue. I ask you not to forget to pray for me, because I need prayers. Thank you for your good will towards dialogue, of coming closer, of brotherhood. May the Lord bless you. "
Interreligious dialogue, seen as a way to fight the fundamentalist ideology by involving leaders of all faiths, was recently at the centre of the fourth Christian-Muslim Summit, held in Tehran from 6 to 9 November.
The theme of the 2016 summit was "To respect and preserve human dignity, setting the stage for peace and global security."
Prominent Christians (Catholic, Anglican, Protestant) and Muslims (Sunni and Shia) from Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Nigeria, the United States, the Vatican and Hong Kong attended the seminar, which was held previously in Washington (2010), Beirut (2011) and the Vatican (2014).