Hawzah News Agency- Head of Iran’s Seminary Ayatollah Alireza Arafi met with the Vatican Secretary of State, Archbishop Gallagher, after meeting with Pope Francis, the world's Catholic leader on Wednesday, June 1.

In this meeting, which was also attended by the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran To the Vatican Hujjat al-Islam Sayyed Taha Hashemi as well as Hujjat al-Islam Husseini Kouhsari, head of Islamic Seminary’s Center for Communication and International Affairs, Ayatollah Arafi expressed his hope that this trip would be a turning point in developing interactions between Islam and Christianity worldwide.

The head of Iran’s seminaries further presented a report on the capacities of Islamic seminaries and said, “Qom seminary is the largest seminary of Islamic sciences based on the teachings of Islam and the Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT).

Referring to the commonalities of the Islamic and Christian worlds, the member of the Supreme Council of Seminaries Ayatollah Arafi noted that seminaries benefit from experts and professors in various fields of Islamic sciences and humanities who can promote religious interactions and collaborations in order to solve major issues concerning humanity.

Vatican recognizes the State of Palestine

Also in this meeting, the Vatican Foreign Minister Archbishop Gallagher expressed hope that the meeting with Pope Francis would bring about tangible results and asserted, "We are happy to meet with the head of Islamic seminaries and the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran. We are willing to expand inter-religious talks and meetings. In this regard, we will exploit the capacities of the Vatican.”

Condemning the international sanctions against Iran, Vatican Foreign Minister added, “We believe that P5+1 countries should be committed to the JCPOA."

Discussing the issue of Palestine and the need to voice support for Palestinians, Archbishop Gallagher concluded, "We recognize the state of Palestine".