AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The first round of religious dialogues between seminaries and Franciscans of the Vatican was held at the headquarters of the Franciscans in Assisi, Italy, one of the holiest cities of Catholic Christianity.
A seminary delegation consisting of Ayatollah Mohsen Faqihi, member of Qom seminary teachers' society, Hujjat al-Islam Rahimian, head of the seminary's Supreme Council Secretariat, Hujjat al-Islam Molla Nouri, seminary's publicity deputy, Hujjat al-Islam Hosseini Kouhsari, seminary's vice president of international and communication, and Hujjat al-Islam, Amin Din, head of the Office of Religions of Seminaries visited Vatican to hold interfaith dialogue. In this round of discussions, the scholars held discussions with the Franciscans' high delegation, consisting of His Excellency Thomas Shimshak, the General Secretary of the Franciscans, Brother Sylvester Bejan, a university professor and former head of the religious dialogues of the Franciscans, and Brother Andre, the official translator of His Excellency Pope Francis, attended the meetings.
In this round of talks, which was held at the official invitation of the Franciscans of the Vatican, the common areas and capacities of Islam and Christianity, especially the commonality of Shiism and Franciscans, were discussed and exchanged.
The common topics discussed, which were only some of dozens of common topics, were: "Justice and anti-tyranny from the perspective of religions", "Poverty and religious asceticism", "Prayer and spirituality from the perspective of Shia and Christianity", "Human rights from the perspective of Religions" and "Criticism of Western Human Rights" which are supposed to be prepared, translated and published in the form of a collection of articles in upcoming months.
The professors and scholars present in this round of dialogue, in addition to the discussions, exchanged opinions in various other fields and answered each other's questions.
While explaining the history of the Franciscans and the historical monuments of Assisi, Prof. Sylvestre presented theological explanations about Christianity and St. Francis in the form of an explanation of paintings and murals in the Vatican.
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