Pray with the Pope Reflection - October 2025

Fr. Edmund Lo, SJ

Monday, October 6, 2025

My brothers and sisters: In this month of October, the Holy Father invites us to pray for collaboration between different religious traditions, that believers in different religious traditions might work together to defend and promote peace, justice, and human fraternity.

Let us recall the words from the choirs of angels during the birth of Jesus, which we recite during the Gloria at Mass: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.” People from different religious traditions are a part of this “people of good will’.

Our recent popes have addressed some of their encyclicals to people of good will; namely, St. John XXIII’s Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) and Pope Francis’ Laudato Si (Praised be You). The Church is deeply invested in dialoguing and working with those who are different from us, but are nevertheless good at heart.

We often do not have a choice over the religious make-up of where we live. There are many places in the world where the historical roots of different religions run deep, and an intolerant attitude towards religious differences can lead to hostility and violence.

We are challenged to live our Christian faith in a concrete manner, while working and living with those who are different from us. The commonality that we share is a shared sense of humanity based on an inherent human dignity; that goodness, truth and beauty are worth pursuing; that peace and justice are worth striving for.

We are not asked to abandon our evangelical zeal; rather, we are challenged to live our faith in a more three-dimensional manner. We do not need a kind of ideological purity to work together, to have everyone “on the same team” before we strive to promote justice and peace.

Let us labour together, and let the Lord speak through our living witness. May God bless you today.