South Korean President Lee Myung-bak met Tuesday with a senior Vatican official charged with promoting dialogue between religions and expressed his respect for such efforts, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.
French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue at the Vatican, arrived Monday for a five-day trip that includes a visit to the headquarters of South Korea's largest Buddhist sect, the Jogye Order, and a meeting with the representatives of seven religions practised in South Korea.
On Tuesday, Tauran paid a visit to Lee, and the two discussed inter-faith exchanges through understanding and dialogue as well as the role of religions, Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.
Lee, a Protestant, expressed his respect for the Vatican for carrying out efforts to promote dialogue between religions, such as offering messages on Buddha's birthday or at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, his office said.