THE Pope Francis arrived at the residence of the leading Shiite Muslim cleric in southern Iraq for the first meeting ever between the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and Shiite Islam.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani was to greet Pope Francis in the humble home he has been renting for decades in a narrow alley in the holy Shiite city of Najaf on the second day of his historic pontifical tour of Iraq.
Their meeting will take place behind closed doors and will last almost an hour. The Argentine pope is reaching out to Shiite Islam after signing a document on “human brotherhood” with a leading Sunni Islamic institution two years ago, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tageb.
Iraqi state television network Ehbariya broadcast footage of the pope’s large motorcade moving through the streets of Najaf.
Sistani, an ascetic priest who rarely appears in public, has a huge influence in politics. His decrees sent Iraqis to the polls for the first free elections in 2005, rallied hundreds of thousands to fight Islamic State in 2014, and overthrew an Iraqi government under pressure over mass protests in 2019.
90-year-old Sistani rarely meets and has refused to talk to current and former Iraqi prime ministers, according to officials close to him. Sistani agreed to meet with the pope on the condition that no Iraqi officials be present, a source in the Iraqi president’s office said.
The 84-year-old Pope Francis embarked on Friday, the most dangerous trip he has ever made abroad, arriving by air in Iraq amid the toughest security measures ever taken by a papal visit to appeal to its leaders and people. to end violence and religious strife.
“Iraqi Christians must live in peace”
Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the religious leader of the majority of Iraq’s Shiites and the world, told Pope Francis today that Iraqi Christians must “live in peace and security” and enjoy “all constitutional rights.”
With this religious summit, one of the most important in history, as the French Agency points out, the Argentine pope wanted to reach out to Shiite Islam, but also to support the cause of the Christians of Iraq – they make up 1% of its population. of the Muslim country – who emphasize that they are regularly victims of discrimination.
It is the first time in history that the leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics has talked to the Grand Ayatollah of Najaf.
However, from this summit, only a photo of the two men and, above all, an announcement from the office of the Grand Ayatollah were made public.
90-year-old Sistani does not appear in public. He answers in writing the questions addressed to him and his sermons are read every Friday by his representatives.
This time, however, he issued a statement thanking Pope Francis for coming to Najaf.
The Grand Ayatollah assured the Pope that “he is very careful that Christian citizens live like all Iraqis in peace and security, enjoying all their constitutional rights,” the statement said.
After meeting with Sistani for 55 minutes, Francis headed to the ruins of ancient Ur in southern Iraq, which is considered the birthplace of Abraham, the father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He is going to give a speech at an interfaith meeting.
After returning to Baghdad, the pope is expected to officiate at the Chaldean Catholic Cathedral of St. Joseph.
Pope Francis met with Sistani on the second day of his historic tour of Iraq, in the humble home he has been renting for decades in a narrow alley in the holy Shiite city of Najaf. Their meeting took place behind closed doors.
Sistani, an ascetic priest who rarely appears in public, has a huge influence in politics. His decrees sent Iraqis to the polls for the first free elections in 2005, rallied hundreds of thousands to fight Islamic State in 2014, and overthrew an Iraqi government under pressure over mass protests in 2019.
90-year-old Sistani rarely meets and has refused to talk to current and former Iraqi prime ministers, according to officials close to him. Sistani agreed to meet with the pope on the condition that no Iraqi officials be present, a source in the Iraqi president’s office said.
The 84-year-old Pope Francis embarked on Friday, the most dangerous trip he has ever made abroad, arriving by air in Iraq amid the toughest security measures ever taken by a papal visit to appeal to its leaders and people. to end violence and religious strife.
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