At his regular weekly public audience on September 21, Pope Francis reported on his visit to Kazakhstan, where he participated in the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.

The Pope praised the government of Kazakhstan for hosting these conferences every three years. That effort, he said, “means putting religion at the center of efforts to build a world where we listen to each other and respect each other in diversity.”

“This is not relativism,” the Pope continued. “It is listening and respecting.” He said that the conferences are inspired by the Assisi meeting convened by Pope John Paul II in 1986, which was “much criticized by people who lacked vision.”

The Pope also praised Kazakhstan for declining to pursue nuclear weapons.