Hawzah News Agency (Switzerland, Italy) – Rev. Dr Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of World Council of Churches, sent a welcoming response to Ayatollah Arafi, Director of Islamic Seminaries of Iran:

Part of the letter reads:

From the World Council of Churches in Geneva, I send you warm greetings of peace and solidarity in the face of these difficult times that confront the whole human family. I am most grateful for your recent letter and for the desire it expresses for cooperation among the nations and religious communities of the world for the sake of justice and the welfare of all people, especially those who are most vulnerable during this current crisis.

Your letter arrived the day after Christians celebrated Easter. The belief shared by all Christians in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us confidence that despite all the signs of death and darkness in this world, the loving wisdom of God has the final word, and God is always at work to bring good out of evil. The example of Jesus Christ also prompts us to find practical ways of engaging compassionately with the suffering of all our neighbours. At the WCC we are always keen to find ways of doing this in partnership with friends and partner organizations from other religions, knowing that the command to love our neighbour as ourselves is present, in various forms, across many traditions.

Another part of the letter says:

At the WCC we have been aware for some time of the especially acute suffering of the people of Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic. We feel a particular concern for the people of your own city of Qom, which has been especially hard-hit. We know that the sanctions imposed on Iran have exacerbated an already very difficult situation. As you may be aware, the WCC, together with ACT (Action by Churches Together) Alliance and the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, has recently issued an appeal to the President of the USA to lift the sanctions. This appeal can be read here:

https://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/wcc-act-alliance-ncccusa-letter-to-uspresident-donald-j-trump.

End.