The Bishop of Ventimiglia-San Remo (Italy), Monsignor Antonio Suetta, has published a pastoral letter encouraging the Catholics of his diocese to evangelize the Muslims present in Italian territory through Christian witness, charity, and the explicit proclamation of Jesus Christ.
The document, titled Non c’è amore più grande (“There is no greater love”), proposes a reflection on the relationship between Christians and Muslims in an increasingly plural and secularized society, and argues that respect for other religions cannot be translated into silence about the Gospel.
Saint Francis and the Sultan as a Model
Suetta places his reflection in the context of the Year of Saint Francis called by Leo XIV for 2026-2027 and recalls the famous encounter between Saint Francis of Assisi and Sultan Malik al-Kāmil during the Crusades.
The bishop notes that the saint of Assisi did not hide his faith when meeting Muslims, but combined respect, charity, and the explicit proclamation of Christianity. According to him, evangelization begins above all with the witness of life, but cannot stop there.
The letter insists that Christians must manifest their faith without a spirit of confrontation or imposition, yet without renouncing the proclamation of Christ.
“Secularization is not Christianity”
Suetta maintains that many Muslims mistakenly identify Christianity with the moral degradation present in Europe, precisely because they encounter societies that are culturally Christian but deeply secularized.
According to the bishop, when Muslims come into contact with consistent Christians, they discover that secularization actually represents a corruption of Christianity and not its authentic expression.
For this reason, he considers that welcoming and collaborating with Muslims must be accompanied by a clear and visible Christian identity.
Evangelizing “with gentleness and respect”
The pastoral letter repeatedly emphasizes that the proclamation of the Gospel must be carried out without coercion and with full respect for each person’s religious freedom.
At the same time, it rejects the idea that Christians may neglect the evangelizing mission on the grounds that other religions can also lead to salvation.
The bishop recalls that, according to Catholic doctrine, Jesus Christ remains the only Savior and states that remaining silent about the Gospel would amount to neglecting an essential responsibility of the baptized. To illustrate this, he uses the image of a person being swept away by the current whom someone refuses to throw a rope to, thinking they might save themselves alone.
Evangelization, he adds, must be done “with gentleness and respect,” following the exhortation of the First Letter of Saint Peter.
The differences between Islam and Christianity
Although he acknowledges the common faith in one Creator God, the bishop points out that Christianity presents God as Father and as Love, fully revealed in Jesus Christ. In contrast, he states that in Islam a more distant vision of God, centered on submission, usually predominates.
The text insists that the core of Christianity is not an abstract doctrine, but the person of Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
A new pastoral plan for the diocese
The letter concludes by announcing that, starting from the 2026-2027 pastoral year, the diocese will develop specific initiatives aimed at the Muslims present in the territory.
Among them will be formation programs organized by the catechetical pastoral ministry and Caritas, as well as meetings dedicated to knowledge of Islamic culture and faith.
Suetta maintains that welcome, consistency of life, and the explicit proclamation of Jesus Christ constitute the main tools of evangelization that the Church in Europe needs today.