Following the historic inauguration of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, I had the distinct honor of participating in a special audience with the Holy Father, alongside religious leaders.

During this meaningful gathering, we reflected on the critical importance of interfaith dialogue in today’s world — a world where tensions too often overshadow the shared values that bind us together.

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV spoke passionately about the power of open, sincere conversations to bridge divides, urging leaders of all faiths to unite in addressing the pressing challenges of our time.

As he beautifully stated:

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴.”

The Pontiff also directly addressed Christian-Muslim relations in his remarks:

“𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘧𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 ‘𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺,” he said, quoting Francis’ 2019 Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.

His Holiness concluded:

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴.”

I wholeheartedly echo these sentiments. In these complex times, interfaith collaboration is more essential than ever.

I am deeply grateful to His Holiness for his openness, wisdom, and vision, and I look forward to supporting future initiatives that bring together diverse faith traditions in the pursuit of peace, understanding, and mutual respect.

Wishing His Holiness Pope Leo XIV strength and blessings as he embarks on this important journey.