In a message addressed to Pope Leo XIV, Hojjat al-Islam Dr. Mohammad Mahdi Imanipour, the President of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization, congratulated him on his appointment as the Leader of the World’s Catholic Church and Sovereign of the Vatican City State.
The message read as follows:
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV
While honoring the memory of Pope Francis, please accept my sincere congratulations on the appointment of Your Holiness as the 267th leader of the World’s Catholic Church. Your esteemed presence at the head of the Catholic Church comes at a time when the world is not experiencing peaceful days. The escalation of conflicts and wars has led to a lack of peace and tranquility in today’s world. Besides, the trend of domination and falsehood has made confrontation with the great divine religions and the removal of spirituality from individual and social lives of the nations of the world on the agenda, with the aim of achieving its sinister and anti-human objectives.
The promotion of deviant patterns devoid of spirituality and morality in human society has caused anxiety and concern among truth-seeking and God-seeking people regarding the turmoil created and perpetrated by opponents of religion, spirituality, and moral values. In such circumstances, promoting peace and justice in the world and safeguarding the inherent and God-given values of humanity is a great responsibility that the world’s religious institutions have to fulfill.
We are confident that Your Holiness’s leadership of the World Catholic Church will provide a meaningful opportunity for promoting interreligious dialogues and paving the path for genuine peace and stability in today’s turbulent world. The three decades of experience in interreligious dialogues between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Catholic Church and other religious institutions in the world are certainly a valuable foundation and roadmap for further synergy.
Once again, while wishing peace for His Holiness Pope Francis, I pray to God Almighty to grant Your Holiness success in fostering in promoting peace and friendship among the nations of the world.
Mohammad Mahdi Imanipor
President of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization, and – Chairman of the Policy-making Council of Interreligious Dialogue
