Vatican in touch with Iran over stoning case

HeraldSun

THE Vatican revealed tonight it was in touch with Tehran "through diplomatic channels" over the controversy surrounding the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.
The statement also reiterated the Roman Catholic Church's opposition to the death penalty.

"The Holy See is following this affair with attention and commitment," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a statement issued in answer to journalists' questions on the matter.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two, was given the death penalty for an extramarital relationship, sparking a global campaign to spare her.

"The position of the Church, opposed to the death penalty, is known and stoning is a particularly brutal form," Lombardi said.

Intervention by the Holy See on humanitarian questions takes place through diplomatic channels, and this sort of action occurred a number of times in the past, the statement said.

Pope Benedict XVI did not make any mention of the case at the Angelus yesterday