By Devin Watkins
Pope Leo XIV sent a message on Tuesday to the “Conference on Interreligious Dialogue and Harmony,” held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Sep 6-12.
Cardinal George Koovakad, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, read the Pope’s message at the event, which he attended with Msgr. Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage, Secretary of the same Dicastery.
The Pope expressed his support for interreligious dialogue and the event’s theme—“Promoting a Culture of Harmony between Brothers and Sisters”—and wished participants the gift of a peace that is “unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering.”
The chosen theme, he said, arises “from the conviction that our human community is truly one—in origin and in destiny under God.”
Pope Leo noted that the human family shares both the opportunity and the responsibility to nurture a culture of harmony and peace, pointing out that “culture” can be considered in two senses.
“Culture can mean the rich heritage of arts, ideas, and social institutions that characterize each people,” he said. “At the same time, culture can be understood as a nurturing environment that sustains growth.”
The Pope invited religious believers to carefully cultivate a growth-sustaining culture by ensuring the “sunlight of truth, the water of charity, and the soil of freedom and justice.”
He pointed to times when distrust and suspicion have won out between cultures, saying weeds of disharmony then choke out peace.
“Together, as companions in interreligious dialogue,” he said, “we are like gardeners tending this field of fraternity, helping to keep dialogue fertile and to clear away the weeds of prejudice.”
The Pope praised the interreligious conference in Bangladesh as a “beautiful witness” that differences in creed or background need not divide us.
When people of difference cultures and religions encounter one another in dialogue, they join forces against division, hatred, and violence, he said.
“Where others have sown distrust, we choose trust,” said the Pope. “Where others might foster fear, we strive for understanding; where others view differences as barriers, we recognize them as avenues of mutual enrichment.”
Pope Leo XIV then noted that a culture of harmony requires shared experiences, not only shared ideas.
One genuine measure of interreligious friendship, he said, is when people of different faiths work together to serve the vulnerable of society, praising those in Bangladesh who have stood together in times of natural disaster or tragedy.
“Such gestures build bridges—between faiths, between theory and practice, between communities—so that all Bangladeshis, and indeed all humanity, may pass from suspicion to trust, from isolation to collaboration,” he said.
Pope Leo XIV then renewed the Catholic Church’s commitment to walking the path of peace and dialogue alongside other religions.
“At times, misunderstandings or past wounds may slow our steps,” he said. “Yet let us encourage one another to persevere. Every group discussion, every joint service project or shared meal, every courtesy shown to a neighbor of another religion, these are bricks of what Saint John Paul II called ‘a civilization of love’.”
In conclusion, the Pope assured the interreligious leaders gathered in Dhaka of his fraternal love, and prayed that God might bless Bangladesh with “ever-deepening harmony and peace.” – Vatican News
