Muslim envoys to get lesson in Vatican politics

First Published 2007-05-05




Diplomats from Muslim countries to get lesson on Vatican politics

20 diplomats invited to course to better understand Church's functioning as international institution.
ROME - About 20 diplomats from majority Muslim countries have been invited to a course on the Catholic Church's politics, the Pontifical Gregorian University's foundation said Friday.

The course to begin Monday, called "The Catholic Church and the Holy See's International Politics," will continue until May 27, first in Rome, then in Turin, foundation president Father Franco Imoda said.

"It is about making the Holy See's diplomacy more understandable and providing elements to better understand the Church's functioning as an international institution," he said.


Imoda said the idea for the course arose before last year's controversy over Pope Benedict XVI's speech that many interpreted as linking Islam and violence. The speech triggered widespread outrage in the Muslim world.

Those invited to the conference are from Algeria, Albania, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Turkey.

A diplomat from Montenegro, which has a majority Orthodox population but a significant number of Muslims, as well, has also been invited.

The Pontifical Gregorian University, a Roman Catholic institution based in Rome, was founded in 1551 by St. Ignatius.

Iran ex-leader in Vatican visit

The former president of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, has been received in audience by Pope Benedict XVI in Rome.

He is the most senior figure in the Muslim world to visit the Vatican since the Pope's much-criticised remarks last year linking Islam with violence.
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This visit to the Vatican by the former president of Iran, postponed from last year, marks the beginning of a new series of public and private initiatives taken by the Vatican to try to improve understanding between Christians and Muslims.
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After meeting the Pope, Mr Khatami will speak at a two-day seminar at the Gregorian University - the pontifical university - on peace in Islam and the Christian world.