Khatami to visit the Pope, a positive sign of dialogue and coexistence

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Vatican diplomat msgr. Angelo Mottola, tells AsiaNews that the planned meeting between the former Iranian president and Benedict XVI will take place in private, but that it represents a strong signal for inter religious dialogue and civil coexistence in Iran. Khatami was among Muslim leaders who sought to calm the waters following the controversial Regensburg address.

Teheran (AsiaNews) – The ex Iranian President’s visit to the Vatican and his meeting with the Pope “is certainly a positive step, which will help dialogue between religions and the promotion of a civil coexistence in the country”, Apostolic Nuncio to Teheran, msgr. Angelo Mottola, told AsiaNews following the announcement of a proposed meeting between Benedict XVI and the Iranian exponent on May 4th

The appointment had been scheduled to take place November last, but as the Vatican diplomat explains, “it was annulled because of the international situation at the time [the Muslim world’s reaction to the Pope’s Regensburg address]. It is very positive that it has been put on the agenda again”.

Ayatollah Khatami, who had previously met with John Paul II, was among the first to calm the waters following the anti-catholic controversy created in the aftermath of the Popes words. The Iranian political leader in fact invited the Muslim community to “read Benedict XVI’s text before judging it”. His position even influenced his successor’s stance on the issue, president Ahmadinejad, who asked for an “Islamic theological analysis” of the papal document before committing himself to comments on it.

His meeting with Benedict XVI, is not the only appointment on Khatami’s agenda during his visit to the Holy See and Italy from May 3rd to 10th: he is also due to participate in a conference on “Intercultural dialogue: a challenge for peace”, promoted by Anastasis association, “La Gregoriana” foundation, of the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Iranian embassy to the Holy See.

Also intervening in the conference, due to take place between May 3rd and 4th in the Aula Magna of the Gregorian’s Matteo Ricci conference centre; Islam scholar Jesuit father Samir Khalil Samir, Philosopher Emanuele Severino, sociologist Khaled Fouad Allam and theologian msgr. Piero Coda.

Before his departure the ex President is also due to visit a few Italian diocese among them Cassino, Naples, Palermo, Milan and Bertinoro (Forlì).

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In a bid to renew "serene dialogue" between cultures and to promote peace in the Middle East, Pope Benedict has met with Iran's former President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami.

According to a Holy See statement, the pope and Khatami discussed "the conditions and the problems of Christian communities in the Middle East and in Iran".

"In relation to the situation in the Middle East, the need for strong initiatives of the international community was stressed in order to start serious negotiations that take into account the rights and interests of all, respecting international laws and with the knowledge that it is necessary to re-build reciprocal trust," the statement continued.

Vatican sources said that the meeting took place in the pope's library and that it lasted over 30 minutes.

AdKronos International reports that Mr Khatami also met Vatican secretary of state Tarcisio Bertone at the presence of the secretaryfor relations with states Dominique Mamberti.

In remarks made before his talks with the pope, Khatami, a moderate Muslim Shiite cleric, said the talks "must first of all heal open wounds." He also expressed the wish that "common efforts will enable to heal relations between the Catholic Church and the Muslim world."

Khatami was referring to the controversial speech by the pontiff on 12 September 2006 at Germany's Regensburg University interpreted as linking Islam to violence.

The protests in the Islamic world sparked by the speech led to the postponement to this week of the seminar on inter-religious dialogue at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University, originally scheduled earlier last year, which the former Iranian president attended Friday before meeting the pontiff.

The seminar was organised by the university in cooperation with the Iranian embassy to the Holy See and was attended by leading clerics and researchers from North African countries, Lebanon and the US.

Benedict meets ex-Iranian President

VATICAN: KHATAMI AND POPE DISCUSS PEACE