There is a sense of mystery and an understanding of the divine that is, I think, part of many of the religions in Asia, and this certainly opens the door to different kinds of interreligious dialogue. I think this is a treasure for the whole Church: Eastern and Western. I also believe it is something that is valued by many cultures in Asia, and something from which we also, I think, could learn.
Because of this, when we talk about the spirit, about the spirit of synodality and about “Conversation in the Spirit,” there is, if you will, a mystical or contemplative element to it that perhaps we can continue to discover. I do not say “understand,” because I think it goes far beyond understanding. But there is a contact with the divine from which we can all learn, including from many in Asia and in the East.
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Pope Leo XIV
Speech to the Participants of the Jubilee
of the Synodal Teams and Participation Organs
October 24, 2025
Pedro Gabriel, MD, is a Catholic layman and physician, born and residing in Portugal. He is a medical oncologist, currently employed in a Portuguese public hospital. A published writer of Catholic novels with a Tolkienite flavor, he is also a parish reader and a former catechist. He seeks to better understand the relationship of God and Man by putting the lens on the frailty of the human condition, be it physical and spiritual. He also wishes to provide a fresh perspective of current Church and World affairs from the point of view of a small western European country, highly secularized but also highly Catholic by tradition.
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