Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, spiritual authority of the Shiites in Iraq, received Pope Francis on Saturday, March 6, in Nadjaf, on the second day of the visit to the country by the head of the Catholic Church. The meeting, qualified “Courtesy”, was private. It lasted forty-five minutes. No media was allowed on site, except that of the Vatican. But the photo was enough. François could have said, as he had done during his first meeting in 2016 with the Grand Imam of the Egyptian University of Al-Azhar, a Sunni authority: “The message is our meeting. “ This message is a guarantee given by the Shiite dignitary – highly respected and who has intervened several times in recent years in defense of minorities – to the fact that Christians deserve consideration, protection and freedom of the city.
The Pope “thanked” his host for having, in recent years, “taken up the defense of the weakest and the persecuted”
After the first meeting between a Roman pontiff and a Shiite authority of this level, the offices of the two protagonists each issued a press release. In short, that of the Vatican reports that the Pope underlined during the meeting “The importance of collaboration and friendship between religious communities” for “The good of Iraq, the region and the whole world”. Francois has “Thanked” his host for having, in recent years, “Took up the defense of the weakest and the persecuted” and affirmed “The importance of the unity of the Iraqi people”.
“Safe and peaceful”
Longer, the one from the Ayatollah’s office indicates that he spoke of “Injustice, oppression, poverty, intellectual and religious persecution, the suppression of fundamental freedoms and the absence of social justice”, of “Displacement of persons” In the region, “Especially Palestinians in the occupied territories”. “He reaffirmed his interest in ensuring that Christian citizens live like all Iraqis, in security and peace and in the fullness of their constitutional rights. “
He also put forward “The role that the Marjaya [la direction spirituelle chiite] played to protect them and protect those who suffered injustice and attack in the incidents of the past years, especially during the period when terrorists had taken over large parts of several Iraqi provinces ”.
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