Pope Leo XIV visits head of Türkiye’s top religious authority

The head of Türkiye’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) Safi Arpaguş met with Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday following talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.

Earlier in the day, Pope Leo XIV, who’s on his first apostolic journey outside Italy since his election as pontiff, held a one-on-one meeting and a delegation-level discussion with President Erdoğan before addressing invited guests alongside the president in the Cihannüma Hall of the Presidential Library.

After completing his program at the Presidential Complex, the pontiff traveled to the headquarters of Diyanet, where he met Arpaguş in a closed-door session.

According to a statement from Diyanet, the meeting was also attended by High Council of Religious Affairs President Prof. Abdurrahman Haçkalı and Diyanet Deputy Presidents Prof. Ahmet Ishak Demir, Dr. Hafız Osman Şahin and Dr. Hüseyin Hazırlar.

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