By Michael Gryboski, Editor Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Pope Leo XIV has encouraged those involved in European institutions to adopt what he described as a "healthy secularism" regarding religion in society.

The pontiff addressed members of the Working Group on Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue, an initiative of the European Parliament, at a gathering on Monday.

"Promoting dialogue between cultures and religions is a key objective for a Christian politician, and thanks be to God there is no shortage of people who have given good witness in this regard," he said, as quoted by Vatican News.

When it comes to interfaith dialogue, Leo XIV stressed the importance of "always placing the human person, human dignity, and our relational and communal nature at the center."

Participation in interreligious dialogue, by its nature, he went on to say, recognizes that religion is of value both on a personal level and in the social sphere, recalling that the word "religion" itself "refers to the notion of connection as an original element of humanity."

"European institutions need people who know how to live a healthy secularism," he said, describing "a style of thinking and acting that affirms the value of religion while preserving the distinction — not separation or confusion — from the political sphere."

As an example of this, Leo XIV cited the life of Alcide De Gasperi, a former prime minister of Italy who was a leader of its Christian Democratic Party until his death in 1954.

Pope Leo XIV is not the first head of the Roman Catholic Church to espouse the idea of a "healthy secularism," as the late Pope Benedict XVI made similar remarks during his reign.

At a December 2006 gathering organized by the Union of Italian Catholic Jurists, Benedict XVI spoke about what he called a "healthy secularity," which "acknowledges the place that is due to God and his moral law, to Christ and to his Church in human life," yet also "affirms and respects the 'rightful autonomy of earthly affairs.'"

Benedict XVI clarified that it "implies that the State does not consider religion merely as an individual sentiment that may be confined to the private sphere alone."

"On the contrary, since religion is also organized in visible structures, as is the case with the Church, it should be recognized as a form of public community presence," he said in 2006.

"This also implies that every religious denomination (provided it is neither in opposition to the moral order nor a threat to public order) be guaranteed the free exercise of the activities of worship —  spiritual, cultural, educational and charitable — of the believing community."

Born Robert Prevost, Leo XIV was elected pope in May, becoming the first pontiff in Catholic Church history to be from the United States.