Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations

Jesus Christ is the heart of ecumenism, Pope Francis told leaders and representatives of the Lutheran World Federation.

Pope Francis began a meeting with participants in a Focolare-sponsored conference by telling the movement’s president, “I pray for your homeland; I pray so much for your homeland, which is suffering at this time.”

Christians and Buddhists must be willing to work together to “bring a ray of hope to a desperate humanity,” Pope Francis said.

Christians have the same baptism and that makes them friends, Pope Francis told members of an ecumenical organization from Hong Kong.

In a world filled with “bellicose rhetoric,” religious leaders must make extra efforts to speak of peace and to nurture every action and attitude that lessens tensions and increases dialogue, Pope Francis said.