The Vatican's Ambassador to Iraq: Sayed al-Sistani's fatwa is the one that saved Iraq and preserved its unity.

A delegation representing the holy shrines of Imam al-Hussayn and al-Abbas (peace be upon both of them) have visited the Vatican Ambassador in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

The Ambassador Alberto Ortega has stated: "The fatwa of the supreme religious authority of his eminence Sayed al-Sistani to defend Iraq and its sanctities, is the one that saved Iraq and its people, preserved its security and unity, and thwarted the schemes of the terrorist ISIL gangs. And we are very happy for all the decisions he has taken as they are acceptable to all, and were supported and strengthened by the Iraqi authorities to expel and eliminate the terrorism."

And he added: "I was very happy to participate in the thirteenth edition of the cultural festival of Martyrdom Spring, and I hope to repeat the experience again as I was glad to meet many personalities from different countries in this holy place, which should also be a place for dialogue and exchange of cultures between religions. Therefore, this festival should continue because such initiatives in the current period experienced by Iraq is very important, while we are celebrating the victories achieved by the Iraqi security forces. And this victory should be greater and more important: the intellectual victory."

The member of the visiting delegation; the assistant head of the relations department at the al-Abbas's (p) holy shrine; Mr. Qassem al-'Awwad, has said: "The objective of this visit is to present the shield of the Martyrdom Spring Festival to the Ambassador of Vatican; Alberto Ortega, who welcomed us with great hospitality. We have talked about the victories achieved by the security forces and the popular mobilization against the terrorist ISIL gangs. He has also wished to start fighting extremist ideas, so we have explained to the Ambassador the human role recommended by the supreme authority in all fields, and that the last Friday sermons confirmed the readiness for a more fierce battle; the fight against extremist ideas. The Ambassador has also praised the Festival of Martyrdom Spring for the presence of personalities from many countries saying: I was very happy to deliver the word of The Pope in Karbala, which is the city of peace and love spirit. We have also invited him to visit the holy city of Karbala and we conveyed the greetings of the officials of the two holy shrines."

At the end of the meeting, the delegation thanked the Ambassador Alberto Ortega and offered him the shield of the cultural festival of Martyrdom Spring, inviting him again to visit the holy shrines in Karbala. The Ambassador then thanked the delegation and wished them peace and love.