Pope Francis participates in Ecumenical and Interreligious Meeting in Mongolia

4 Sep 2023

On Sunday, 3 September 2023, as part of his Apostolic Journey to Mongolia, Pope Francis participated in an Ecumenical and Interreligious Meeting at the Hun Theatre in Ulaanbaatar. Along with the Holy Father, speakers representing Judaism, Islam, Shintoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shamanism, Bahaism, Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventism, Evangelicalism and Eastern Orthodoxy took part in the meeting, at which government officials, academics and other representatives of civic society were also present.

In his address, Pope Francis praised Mongolia’s tradition of harmonious coexistence between the followers of various religious traditions. Speaking of this harmony, he said: “Harmony is that special relationship born of the creative interplay of differing realties, without imposition or amalgamation, but with complete respect for their differences, in view of a serene life in common. I ask myself: Who, more than believers, is called to work for harmony among all?”

The Pope also underlined the Catholic Church’s commitment to ecumenical, interreligious and cultural dialogue: “Her faith is grounded in the eternal dialogue between God and humanity that took flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. ... Dialogue, in fact, is not antithetical to proclamation: it does not gloss over differences, but helps us to understand them, to preserve them in their distinctiveness and to discuss them openly for the sake of mutual enrichment.”