In this meeting, Msgr. Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage, Secretary of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Dr. Khaled Akashe, Head of the Bureau of Islamic Affairs of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Vatican, and officials of the Iranian Embassy in the Vatican were present in this meeting.

The vice president of the Vatican Pontifical Council for Interfaith Dialogue welcomed the members of the delegation, and thanked them for holding religious dialogues between the seminaries and the Vatican and expressed hope that these dialogues, in addition to laying the groundwork for better mutual understanding, can have practical and tangible effects so that the followers of divine religions will have more cooperation.

He considered violence and war-mongering behavior to be one of the most serious issues of contemporary humanity and emphasized,” All religions should be the foundation of peace.”

Then Hujjat al-Islam Hosseini Kouhsari, while thanking the invitation, pointed out the intellectual, moral and natural characteristics of the school of Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT) and stated,” The Islamic system and the Shiite scholars, both in terms of opinion and in practice, are against extremism and the fight against ISIS is a clear example in this regard.”

He introduced the discourse of Islamic resistance as an effective and objective strategy to fight against all kinds of extremism and arrogance and called for a clear and effective stance of all religions and elites towards the crime against the oppressed Muslims of Palestine.

While explaining the valuable interaction of seminaries and the Islamic system with religious minorities, the Vice President of Seminaries in International Relations presented a report on the religious activities of seminaries in the fields of education and research.

In addition, Dr. Akashe, the Secretary of Religious Dialogues of the Vatican, while expressing his sympathy for the Muslims of Gaza, stated,” What is happening in Gaza is a crime against humanity, and we are concerned about the Muslims, as well as the Christians of Palestine, and the Pope has stated his position many times and the condemned existing atrocities against human beings and we believe that two Muslim and Jewish states can live side by side.”

At the end, while appreciating the positions of the Vatican, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s position of adopting a democratic solution and handing over the right to decide about the future to all Palestinians was emphasized.

Hujjat al-Islam Rahimian, head of the Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Seminaries, further pointed out the history of Christianity in Iran and stated,” Throughout history, Iran has always been safe and a refuge for Christians against oppression, and they have also sought coexistence and friendship with Muslims and have been enjoying security in Iran.”

He added,” Some of the points raised by the Vatican officials in this trip can be followed up on the expansion of interactions and will be transferred to the relevant authorities after this trip.”