Pope, quoting Buddha, urges religious dialogue to fight fundamentalism

Calling himself one of the “humble heirs” of ancient schools of wisdom and quoting the Buddha, Pope Francis on Sunday urged all religions to live in harmony and shun ideological fundamentalism that foments violence.
Francis was speaking at an inter-religious meeting in the Mongolian capital and sharing the stage in an theatre with a dozen other religious representatives – the type of gathering that Francis’ conservative critics have assailed in the past.
The primary purpose of the pope’s visit to Mongolia is to meet the country’s tiny Catholic community, at 1,450 members one of the world’s smallest. He is due to say a Mass for them later on Sunday.
Mongolia borders with China and the pope has also used trip to send an apparent message to Beijing, which has difficult relations with the Vatican, that governments have nothing to fear from the Catholic Church because it has no political agenda.