“For our traditions,” Pope Leo XIV said to an audience of Christians and Muslims in Rome on May 11, “human compassion and empathy are not something additional or optional, but are a call from God to reflect his goodness in our daily lives. This belief, therefore, has social implications.” The Pontiff was addressing the 8th Colloquium between the Vatican Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and Jordan’s Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies. Emphasizing the importance of the chosen theme, “Human Compassion and Empathy in Modern Times,” Leo said that these are “essential elements of both of our religious traditions and important aspects of what it means to live a truly human life.”
The Pope said: “In such a context, Christians and Muslims, drawing from the richness of our respective traditions, are called to a common mission: to revive humanity where it has grown cold, to give voice to those who suffer and to transform indifference into solidarity. Compassion and empathy can be our instruments as they have the power to restore the dignity of the other.”
