In Varanasi we have strong ties with people of all religions. Especially in times of crisis and serious need, we meet to serve the poor and the common good.

It's important to work together. And to transmit this necessity of continuing to help these people, to assist these people, with prayers and spiritual assistance, but also with concrete assistance...to contact authorities, to engage more in promoting peace and development. Also because it's the best way to avoid the problem of migration. Instead of trying to cover the emergency here (in Europe), to try to solve the problems at the root so that people don't have to leave their countries.

What this crisis and the pandemic shows us is that we are so interconnected in this world that we need to work together. There's no way that we can handle this crisis without having a stronger international, multilateral cooperation

Over the years the RfP has supported, facilitated and guided the establishment of 70 national Interreligious Councils and five regional Interreligious Councils from around the world. Each council brings together the leadership of the various religions in a manner reflective of the local religious demography, and they act as entities which create an inter-religious space within each nation’s civic infrastructure.

Disasters and calamities remind us not only to take all kinds of precautions within the framework of the reasons, but also to help each other in a spirit of unity, to lend a hand to those in need, and to pray to God Almighty to protect our country and all humanity from all kinds of disasters.

I think that’s a natural response for women – to want to help as many people as possible. And for young people, they are often the ones to get out there and do something. And then seeing this response from the women and youth, I think encouraged those older, more established religious institutions to say, “Absolutely, we must come together and address the needs of our entire, multireligious community.

We need these Interreligious Councils to be strengthened so they can serve the shared well-being of their nations effectively and in a timely manner.

We can't say that the humanitarian situation is currently excellent, but in the cities the government has been able to visit through its various ministers, the situation is gradually returning to normal. It must be said that sometimes it's the lack of a framework for dialogue that is at the root of conflicts. In the places I've been able to visit, we've always ended up finding common ground, and most of the time, it's misunderstandings or rumors that are at the root of crises.

There is a natural human impulse to protect children, to grab a toddler you don't know if you see them running into traffic, and if that impulse is broken or disincentivized by a government, there is absolutely a humanitarian crisis, no matter what any asshole has to say about it.

As we confront unprecedented crises—from global warming to global warring to a global economic meltdown—there is also an unprecedented opportunity for change. Where will innovative thinkers, grass-roots activists, human-rights leaders and ordinary citizens come together to hash out solutions to today’s most pressing problems?

Everybody has come together to host, to provide shelter, to provide food, to provide assistance to those who are fleeing war. But we will need assistance to deal with this influx, and we need this quickly.

There's a need for meeting, for dialogue, for shared commitment, so that, in a world that is by now rushing towards globalization, the different religions, with their specific resources, may fulfil the expectations of promoting some truly human values.

Working with religious actors on all aspects of human rights carries both challenges and opportunities.

When times are easy and there’s plenty to go around, individual species can go it alone. But when conditions are harsh and life is tenuous, it takes a team sworn to reciprocity to keep life going forward. In a world of scarcity, interconnection and mutual aid become critical for survival.