SYDNEY, Australia – Pope Benedict XVI told representatives of Islam and other faiths that they must unite to combat religion’s role in “sinister and indiscriminate” violence.

Without mentioning terrorism directly, the pontiff said there were those in who were using religion “as a cause of division rather than a force for unity” in a 40-minute exchange with Australian Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist leaders in Sydney.

“In a world threatened by sinister and indiscriminate forms of violence, the unified voice of religious people urges nations and communities to resolve conflicts through peaceful means and with full regard for human dignity,” Benedict told the leaders, gathered in the gothic surrounds of Australia’s largest Roman Catholic cathedral as part of the church’s global youth festival.

The remarks come as the Vatican tries to cool lingering anger among Muslims over a speech Benedict gave in 2006 that appeared to associate Islam with violence. Benedict quickly apologized for the link.

The meeting was one element of a busy Friday schedule for the 81-year-old pontiff at World Youth Day, which organizers say has attracted more than 200,000 young Catholics to Australia’s largest city. Two days into his four-day official program, the pope looked fit and energetic.

The pope blessed the opening scene of a live reenactment of the stations of the cross – the Bible’s depiction of Christ’s last days – that was played out through Sydney, with some of the city’s most recognizable landmarks in the backdrop.

Pilgrims lined the streets to watch the recreation, which stretched over three hours and included often stark scenes of brutality toward Jesus, including his being nailed to a cross. As night fell on a clear but cold midwinter day, many watching clutched each other and wept openly. Organizers estimated the live television audience for one of the festival’s most dramatic events topped 500 million.

On Saturday, the pope will spend part of the day with bishops and other Catholic officials, and has signaled he may make express regret about past sexual abuse by Australian clergy as he did during his trip to the United States earlier this year.