Ihsanoglu congratulates Pope Francis

Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu congratulated Pope Francis for having been elected as the new spiritual leader of the Catholic world. In a message sent to Pope Francis, Ihsanoglu expressed hope that new pope would be an opportunity to strengthen ties between Islam and Christianity. "The OIC has been exerting efforts for the last eight years to spread the idea of historical consensus between the two religions. Praying for you to become successful in this supreme and noble task, I would like to reiterate my call at this historical moment," Ihsanoglu noted in his letter.