Pope holds private meeting with Iran's FM

Mottaki, whose ministry earlier this month held a two-day gathering of Holocaust deniers and white supremacists in Tehran, and the other Iranians exchanged pleasantries with the pope in a meeting that lasted 30 minutes, the reports said. The private meeting came after the pope's general audience, the reports said.

Iranian news accounts described the meeting as "very cordial" and reported that the content of Ahmadinejad's letter was of a religious nature and not a political one.

The Italian news agency ANSA reported that the pope issued a note after the meeting in which he "reaffirmed the role that the Holy See intends to exercise for world peace not as a political authority, but as a religious and moral one, appealing to the conscience because the problems of the people are always resolved with dialogue, in mutual understanding and in peace."

The Vatican indirectly issued a statement at the time of the Holocaust deniers conference, saying that the Holocaust "was a great tragedy before which we cannot remain indifferent" and which must serve as a warning to people's consciences.

The English version of the Iranian news agency IRNA reported on Wednesday that during the audience with the Iranians, the pope had expressed "appreciation for Iranians' sentiments for Mary and Jesus Christ" and asked that his greetings be conveyed to Ahmadinejad.

Earlier this month, Benedict had met with the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, who urged Christians to protest Holocaust denials. Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel and questioned whether the Nazi genocide of 6 million Jews took place.

The letter delivered on Wednesday was one in a series from Ahmadinejad. Earlier this year, he wrote a letter to President Bush criticizing U.S. policies and the war in Iraq. Later, he wrote a letter to the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, in which he discussed the legacy of the Holocaust. His most recent letter came last month and was addressed to the American people. In it, he urged the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

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