Catholics, Buddhists gather in Cambodia for interreligious meeting focused on peace

Pope Leo XIV greets Buddhist monks in a meeting with representatives of other Christian churches, ecclessial communities, and other religions on May 19, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, May 27, 2025 / 15:36 pm (CNA).

The Vatican commenced its eighth Buddhist-Christian Colloquium on Tuesday in Cambodia, bringing together representatives of both religions to discuss the promotion of peace in Asia.

Prefect for the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue Cardinal George Koovakad delivered a short speech on the first day of the May 27–29 conference on “Buddhists and Christians Working Together for Peace through Reconciliation and Resilience,” highlighting the significance of the two religions’ common commitment to peace, Vatican News reported.

“Together, as Buddhists and Christians, let us explore how reconciliation and resilience can help shape peaceful and compassionate societies,” Koovakad said on Tuesday.

Approximately 150 people from Cambodia and abroad are participating in the three-day meeting organized by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, the Apostolic Vicariate of Phnom Penh, Saint Paul Institute, Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University, and the MAGGA Jesuit Research Center.

Among the Catholic conference participants are bishops and priests from 16 Asian nations, including Mongolia, Vietnam, Myanmar, South Korea, Taiwan, and Sri Lanka.

Throughout the three-day conference, Christians and Buddhists have the opportunity to reflect on the stories of peace, reconciliation, and resilience found in the Bible’s Old and New Testaments and in Buddhist writings, including the Pāḷi Tipiṭaka and the Mahayana Sutras.

A statement released by the dicastery earlier this week said this year’s meeting is a “timely reminder of the power of religion” in fostering healing and hope in a world ravaged by conflict and violence.

According to the dicastery’s statement, Cambodia was chosen to host the international interreligious gathering to honor the legacy of the late Maha Ghosananda, a Buddhist monk who spiritually ministered to refugees during the country’s 1975–1979 Khmer Rouge communist regime led by Pol Pot.

Since 1995, the Vatican has held a series of Buddhist-Christian meetings in different countries to advance mutual understanding and collaboration between the Church and non-Christian religions in the spirit of Pope Paul VI’s Second Vatican Council declaration Nostra Aetate released in 1965.

The last Buddhist-Christian Colloquium in 2023 was held in Bangkok and focused on the theme of “healing a wounded humanity and the earth.”