Former Iranian Ambassador to the Vatican: Pope’s interpretations of the Grand Ayatollah Sistani are notable and reflect his personality traits
The former Iranian Ambassador to the Vatican, noting that this is the first time that the Pope has met with a figure in the Shia Authority, said: “The Pope’s interpretation of the Grand Ayatollah Sistani has never been about other Islamic scholars. The fact is that the Pope’s interpretations of Ayatollah Sistani are notable and reflect his personality traits.”
In an interview with Shafaqna, Hujjatul-Islam Dr. Mohammad Masjed-Jamei said about the Pope’s meeting with the Grand Ayatollah Sistani: “Throughout history and as far as the Shia world is concerned, the Popes have had many meetings with second-rate religious figures in the Shia world, but this is the first time that the Pope has met a figure of Shia Authority.”
Regarding the meeting of Pope Francis with the Supreme Religious Authority of Shia Muslims, he said: “The Popes, wherever they travel, generally meet with the religious figures of that country, so it was natural that the Pope also met with Muslim religious figures during his trip to Iraq, but as far as I know, this is more or less the first time that the Pope has left Baghdad for a city like Najaf Ashraf just to meet with a Shia figure. Because in the meetings that took place in the past, different personalities came to the Pope, and if the Pope went to them, it was not that he would travel somewhere especially to see that person, but eventually on the side-lines of a meeting in an institution or giving a speech in a city, he also met with these personalities and religious fighters.”
He referred to Pope Francis’ descriptions of the Grand Ayatollah Sistani’s character and said: “Basically, Popes give interviews inside the plane when they return from a trip; When the Pope returned to Italy from Iraq, he said something very respectful about him on the plane during the interview, and that this feeling of respect comes from the character of the Grand Ayatollah Sistani. He described him as a spiritual, conversant, humble, and man of God, and that it is his honor to meet with the Grand Ayatollah Sistani.