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.

The media and the field of communications need to exercise more kindness and share the truth with charity, Pope Francis said.

The Dicastery for the Service of Charity, led by Polish Cardinal Krajewski, spent $2.2 million (2 million euros) in 2022 for humanitarian help in Ukraine.

Even though war seems to be an “invincible monster,” everyone is called to be a peacemaker, Pope Francis told a group of people severely wounded in the line of duty.