He spoke of the sacredness of life, human dignity and religious freedom as values that all religions share.

And then his speech became more pointed. Interfaith work, he said, was not just about mutual understanding between different religions. Religious communities have a responsibility to bring those values into the broader society. “The world begs for a common witness,” he stated, and spoke of peace, freedom and justice.

And he also spoke of truth and transcendence - the human quest for meaning, the cosmic questions about origin and destiny. We have no reason to fear these questions, the Pope stated. Indeed, they must be a part of the interfaith dialogue.

And on those answers, we will likely part ways. “Christianity proposes Jesus of Nazareth,” the Pope said quietly.

I didn’t tighten up. I didn’t feel offended. I didn’t think to myself, “Let’s not go there.”

Instead, I wanted to offer, respectfully and humbly, my answer to the cosmic questions: “Islam proposes a series of Prophets - beginning with Adam, ending with Muhammad and including Jesus - who each bring the message of mercy and monotheism. The will of God is that we submit ourselves to that message in the way we live our lives.”

Raising cosmic questions about origin and destiny, meaning and possibility, is part of what religious communities do.

The challenge is not that different religions offer different answers.

The challenge is that we offer those different answers respectfully, all of us in awe of the infinite and ineffable mystery of God.