VATICAN - Pope Francis: "The Catholic Church in Iran is not against the government; to say otherwise is a lie!"

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - "The life of the Catholic Church in Iran, a “little flock”, is very close to my heart. The Church is not against the government; to say otherwise is a lie". This was stated by Pope Francis who met this morning, before the general audience, in the small hall of the Paul VI Audience Hall, the participants in the XII Colloquium of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue with the "Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue" of Tehran, which is taking place these days at the Vatican.

"I am aware of its situation and the challenges it faces as it perseveres in bearing witness to Christ and contributing, quietly but significantly, to the good of society as a whole, while rejecting all religious, ethnic or political discrimination", added the Pontiff, referring to the Catholic Church in Iran. Among those present at the meeting with the Pope was the Conventual Franciscan Dominic Joseph Mathieu, Archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan of the Latins and future Cardinal.

And after the new threats of an escalation of the conflict between Russia and the Western North Atlantic to the point of using nuclear weapons, the Bishop of Rome relaunched the appeal for peace for this world "divided and rent by hatred, hostility, wars and the threat of a nuclear conflict". It is therefore necessary to "pray" and "work for dialogue, reconciliation, peace, security and the integral development of all humanity".
"We can read the latest threat in today’s newspapers," the Pope said before the members of the Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Tehran. "This situation - the Pontiff concluded - prompts us, as believers in the God of Peace, to pray and work for dialogue, reconciliation, peace, security and the integral development of all humanity. We profess our faith in the all-powerful God of love. The commitment to peace that we can demonstrate together will make us credible in the eyes of the world and above all to future generations." (F.B.) (Agenzia Fides, 20/11/2024)

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