Pope Francis clasps top Sunni imam

Seismic meeting seen as a step to reopen dialogue between Christians and Muslims

Pope Francis meets with the grand
imam Sheik Ahmed Muhammad
Al-Tayyib at the Vatican May 23, 2016.
(Photo Credit: L'Osservatore Romano)

The Holy Father embraced the grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar mosque during a meeting at the Vatican, which many consider an attempt towards recreating discussion between Christians and Sunni Muslims.

"Our meeting is the message," the Pope was heard to have said to the imam during the meeting.

The pontiff and grand imam Sheik Ahmed Muhammad Al-Tayyib observed the significance of the meeting "within the framework of dialogue between the Catholic Church and Islam," said Holy See press office director Father Federico Lombardi.

The two leaders addressed the commitment on the part of authorities and the faithful of major religions alike to toward bringing world peace, "the rejection of violence and terrorism, and the situation of Christians in the context of conflicts and tensions in the Middle East and their protection," Father Lombardi said.

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