Holy See confirms, Pope sent letter to Iran asking for release of detained British soldiers

Vatican City, Apr 9, 2007 / 08:06 am

The director of the Holy See’s Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, confirmed on Saturday that Pope Benedict XVI sent a letter to Ayatollah Ali Jamenei of Iran asking for the release of the 15 British soldiers detained by Iran in March.

According to the Vatican spokesman, the letter was sent to Iranian authorities a few hours before the soldiers were released last Wednesday, after 13 days being held by Iran.   

In commenting on the information published by the British day, “The Guardian,” Father Federico revealed that the Pope sent a letter to the Iranian spiritual leader in which he expressed his trust that “men of good will would find a solution to the crisis.”

According to Father Federico, the Holy Father asked Jamenei “to do everything possible to assure that the sailors and soldiers of the British Navy could be reunited with their families for Easter.”

According to the British daily, during the press conference last Wednesday in which he announced the release of the British sailors, Iranian president Mahmud Ahmadinejad “used a language very similar to that of Benedict XVI, speaking about forgiveness and about a decision taken on the occasion of the celebration of the birth of the great prophet Mohammed and of the death of Christ,” the newspaper said in reference to a possible Papal intervention.