Hawzah News Agency- Head of Iran’s Islamic Seminary Ayatollah Alireza Arafi and his delegation met with Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), one of the most important and historic assemblies of the Vatican on Thursday, June 2.

In this meeting, after a brief introduction of seminaries and their capacities, the head of Iran’s seminaries stated, "The current era is affected by the waves of modernity and various schools of thought, suffering from spiritual, moral, cultural and social crises; therefore, solving current global problems requires extensive research, theorizing as well as cooperation and consensus of religious scholars."

Emphasizing the need to respond to the uncertainties and attacks revolving around religion, ethics and spirituality, the member of the Supreme Council of seminaries Ayatollah Arafi added, “In the teachings of Islam and especially the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT), the inherent dimensions of mankind and the commonalities among them have been taken into consideration. Therefore, with a balanced and comprehensive view of the various human dimensions, the response to human needs by religions is subject to the recognition of material, spiritual and social aspects of human beings with an inherent natural approach."

Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), which has been responsible for the inquisition of Christians for centuries also noted, "For more than a hundred years, there has been no inquisition in Christianity, and our priority of our assembly is to respond to religious inquiries and to defend and deepen religious teachings, and we are trying to confront religious deviations."

The Cardinal also expressed his happiness regarding the meeting and stated that the Iranian delegation is the first group to visit the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican, he also expressed hope that he could travel to Iran in the future.

Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer SJ (born 19 April 1944) is a Spanish Jesuit, theologian and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. After a thirty-year career teaching theology, he joined the Roman Curia in 2004 as Secretary-General of the International Theological Commission. He was made an archbishop when named secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in 2008 and was raised to the rank of cardinal in 2018, after becoming prefect of the CDF in 2017.