The small steps leading to Tehran

"Celebrating the Eucharist, I was moved to see so many proofs of affection for the Pope and the desire to live as Christians who give a good example". Diary of a journey to Iran by the President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue

by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the occasion of the meeting of 9 November 2010 in Tehran [© Associated Press/LaPresse]

Our meetings in Tehran have become a regular occurrence, and the theme of the most recent one was Muslim and Christian prospects on coexistence between religions and societies.
Already in the days before my departure, the interest of many people had been kindled when they learned that I would meet, as happened, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and that I would personally deliver a letter in which the Pope responded to a previous one received from the President in the days of the Synod for the Middle East, by the hand of Vice-President, Hujjat al-Islam Haj Sayyed Mohammad Reza Mir Tajjadini, who had come to the Vatican specially for the purpose. The meeting with the President was friendly and the welcome that the highest levels of the Iranian government reserved for the representatives of the Holy See was, as always, respectful and warm. The President received the Pope’s letter with pleasure.
It is no secret that the request for the Pope to visit the Islamic Republic of Iran is often put forward by the authorities in Tehran, at various levels. The request came to me also. In Tehran I responded that when circumstances are ripe, the Pope will certainly consider the benefits of a visit to Iran, which of course will have as its main goal a visit and communion with the local Catholic community.
In our personal talk President Ahmadinejad reiterated his conviction that in contemporary societies the role of religion cannot be diminished. He reminded me that two systems had already promised mankind’s happiness and had failed: Marxism and capitalism. They now belong to history, while society really needs to rediscover the importance of religion and faith in God.
For me this visit was of particular importance because for the first time I would be going to Qom, the Shiite holy city and the seat of the university, the cradle of distinguished schools of thought of Shia Islam. I noted with satisfaction the importance given to teaching philosophy and hope that the contacts and conversations particularly rich in content had on the occasion may lead to a collaboration of an academic nature. They are all small steps that seem to me to be going in the right direction.
As is well known the Christians in Iran follow different rites, and even our own local Catholic community is variegated, enriched by the presence of many Europeans and Africans. Celebrating the Eucharist with them, I was moved to see so many proofs of affection for the Pope, expressions of a genuine desire to be part of the Church and to live as Christians who give a good example.
The message that it was my task to convey during this visit to Iran, and that I passed on to our hosts and to the authorities, was that there must be dialogue between us, because dialogue is the royal road to peace and cooperation among peoples. I also said that it was necessary to continue the meetings between us, because they lead us to know and understand each other more deeply. I said we cannot yield to the impulse of fear for one other, but we must take on, instead, as if they were our own, the aspirations to good of our interlocutor.
For us Christians, especially in today’s context, it is more appropriate than ever to continue on our way avoiding two pitfalls: rancor and indifference.