Before beginning their ecumenical pilgrimage of peace to South Sudan, Pope Francis and the leaders of the Anglican Communion and the Presbyterian Church of Scotland asked Christians around the globe to accompany them with prayers.

Having come to know Jesus through the Scriptures and in the Eucharist, Catholics are called to share with others the hope and joy that come from faith and that endure even when life gets difficult, Pope Francis said.

Ukraine’s religious leaders asked Pope Francis to visit Kyiv, said Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych, the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

The conference, “Women Building a Culture of Encounter Interreligiously,” was sponsored by the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations.

Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant representatives joined the pope at Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls for vespers closing the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The AP interview with the pope also covered topics ranging from his health to the ongoing clerical sexual abuse crisis and from homosexuality to potential policies for regulating the retirement of a pope who renounces his office.

As war ravages Ukraine, the country cannot be divided among religious confessions but must be united behind “mother Ukraine,” Pope Francis said.

After the shooting Jan. 21 in Monterey Park, California, that killed 11 people and injured nine others, Pope Francis said that “the world is obsessed with having guns.”

Conflict and division hurt the mission of the Knights of Malta, and craving for power creates distance from Christ, Pope Francis told members of the religious, charitable and chivalric order.

Christians must not “put pressure on others” to convert or induce in them “feelings of guilt,” but take a weight off their shoulders through joyfully sharing the Gospel, Pope Francis said.