Pope Leo XIV does not need further treatment for his cancer, his doctors announced, as they have determined that the adenocarcinoma in his lung was localized. His recovery from the thoracic surgery to remove it is proceeding well, but as a precautionary step his doctors have recommended that he not attend the “Unarmed and Disarming Peace” interreligious meeting in Assisi, Italy on October 27, in order to ensure his full recovery, Vatican News reported. The Pope will instead send a message expressing his closeness to those at the meeting, and his belief that “the ‘Spirit of Assisi’ dialogue and the search for words and gestures of peace are valuable resources in an age of conflict.”
Building bridges between faiths has been a priority for Pope Leo from the outset of his papacy. In an exclusive July 30, 2025 interview with Crux correspondent Elise Ann Allen, given only two months after he was elected, Pope Leo affirmed that “for the good of world peace, there’s no other way to go,” and therefore “to look for ways of promoting opportunities for dialogue, mutual respect, and understanding is very, very important.” He reported the he had reached out already to leaders of the Jewish and Islamic faiths, and met with a group of Buddhists. “It is important to show mutual respect for one another and to understand that different people will have different beliefs,” he emphasized.
On Oct. 22, Pope Leo welcomed a leadership group from the American Jewish Committee (AJC) at the Vatican. He spoke of the friendship between the Vatican and the AJC, “rooted in our shared spiritual heritage,” which “calls us to defend human dignity, serve the poor, to protect religious freedom and promote justice and peace.” Reiterating that the Catholic Church rejects anti-semitism based on the teachings of the Gospel itself, Pope Leo stressed that “differences of opinion, however profound, must never give rise to prejudice and hostility, which undermine the moral foundations of our society. In a world wounded by violence and mistrust, this commitment to fraternity is especially urgent… and) will certainly contribute to building a more peaceful world, something that all men and women of good will desire in their hearts.”
The [AJC statement on the meeting expresses their appreciation for the Pope having received them, even as he recovers from surgery. They note, in particular, that the AJC served as a “key partner in shaping Nostra Aetate.”
That document, meaning “In Our Age,” was the “Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions,” issued by the Second Vatican Council and promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1965, which establishes, that since “God made the whole human race to live over the face of the earth,” all peoples have the same origin, and all seek answers to the same questions about the nature of Man, the Church seeks “dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions.”
