# Gallagher: Religions Can Foster Peace Amid Global Tensions > Archbishop Gallagher urges religions to contribute to peace by respecting human dignity and rejecting faith-based division in a fractured world. - Title: Gallagher: Religions Can Foster Peace Amid Global Tensions - Summary: Archbishop Gallagher urges religions to contribute to peace by respecting human dignity and rejecting faith-based division in a fractured world. Archbishop… - Keywords: paul richard gallagher, cardinals, peace, religious freedom, diplomacy, rome, conference, september 2026, pope leo xiv, apostolic journey, religion, world - Source: Vaticannews — https://vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2026-09/archbishop-gallagher-religions-diplomacy-conference-rome.html - Author: Vatican News - Published: 2026-09-30T07:42:04.197+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: paul richard gallagher, cardinals, peace, religious freedom, diplomacy, rome, conference, september 2026, pope leo xiv, apostolic journey, religion, world ## Archbishop Gallagher at Rome Conference Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, spoke at Rome’s Religions and Diplomacy conference on 29 September 2026. > Archbishop Gallagher highlighted religious communities’ ability to speak to consciences and ease tensions between peoples, while warning against turning faith into a banner of division. ## Conference Focus on Religious Peace The three-day gathering at Palazzo San Calisto, organized by Carità Politica to mark its thirtieth anniversary, concludes on 30 September 2026. > The association presented a document committing it to cultural exchanges and joint action to revive dialogue and bring peoples closer together. ## Religious Freedom as Key to Peace Archbishop Gallagher stressed that religious freedom is the litmus test of respect for all human rights, as it is both their synthesis and keystone. > Freedom of religion or belief is the litmus test of respect for all other human rights, because it is both their synthesis and their keystone. ## Religions Must Not Be Reduced to Division Archbishop Gallagher warned against reducing religious affiliation to a banner that distinguishes groups, stressing that religion must not become a tally of those on one side. > Religious affiliation must not be reduced to a banner that distinguishes us from them. There can never be an absolute identification between ethnicity or a people, on the one hand, and religious affiliation, on the other. ## Religious Communities’ Peace Contributions Religious communities contribute to peace by speaking to consciences and preventing radicalization, despite not being subjects of international law. > They have the ability to speak to consciences, something immensely valuable. ## Religious Freedom Protects All Rights Violations of religious freedom treat faith as a private matter, but public profession of faith must be guaranteed to ensure societies remain free. > Religious freedom is not a privilege of believers. ## Cardinal Reina on Disarming Language Cardinal Baldo Reina emphasized disarming language by removing God from war logic and rejecting religious legitimacy for hatred. > Disarming certainly means laying down weapons, but first and foremost freeing international relations from the conviction that force is the ultimate and decisive measure of relations between peoples. ## Negotiation as Responsibility Cardinal Reina stated negotiation is not a form of weakness but an exercise in responsibility, distinguishing mediation from moral equidistance. > Negotiation is an exercise in responsibility, not a form of weakness. ## Rome as Peace Laboratory Rome must continue learning from global and religious traditions to create a space for peaceful coexistence and dialogue. > Rome itself must continue to learn: from the world, from sister Churches, from other religious traditions, from peoples, migrants, the poor and all who continue to call for peace and justice. ## Global Health Cooperation Professor Carlo Torti highlighted the Gemelli Polyclinic Foundation’s Africa project supporting 40 countries through health initiatives with Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. > Health knows no borders. The fundamental challenge is to build bonds and create community. ## Ambassadors’ Perspectives Angola’s and Türkiye’s ambassadors emphasized the importance of religious traditions in promoting human dignity and peaceful coexistence. > Human dignity comes before our political identities. Diplomacy is the art of recognizing the existence of the other. ## What Happens Next Religious leaders will convene in the coming months to implement commitments for peace and dialogue, as the conference concludes on 30 September 2026. > The association plans to convene religious leaders in the coming months to put these commitments into practice. ## Key takeaway Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher emphasizes religious communities' role in easing global tensions and promoting peace without reducing faith to a tool of division.