Pope Francis’s Legacy of Encounter: Christian-Muslim Dialogue, Recognition, and Fraternity

Abstract

This article reassesses Pope Francis’s contribution to Catholic–Muslim dialogue on the first anniversary of his death. It situates his legacy within post–Nostra aetate developments and highlights his focus on the culture of encounter and universal fraternity, central to Fratelli tutti and the Document on Human Fraternity. For Francis, dialogue is an ethical vocation grounded in recognition, humility, and shared responsibility. The study places his vision alongside al-Kindi, al-Ghazali, and Ibn Rushd, whose philosophies also affirm openness to the other. Their convergence reframes difference as a path to truth and justice. The article argues that Francis’s approach offers tools to confront islamophobia and nationalism, providing a normative framework to resist exclusion and foster a more just, dialogical global order.

Keywords: Pope Francis. Interreligious Dialogue. Fraternity. Islamic Philosophy. Encounter.