Pope Benedict XVI has urged the world's major religions to work together to fight the evils of terrorism.

The pontiff made the passionate plea at an inter-religious meeting with Muslim clerics and rabbis at St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney on Friday.

He is visiting the Australian city for World Youth Day, a six-day gathering of young Catholics from across the planet.

The Pope told the gathering: "In a world threatened by sinister and indiscriminate forms of violence, the unified voice of religious people urges nations and communities to resolve conflict through peaceful means and with full regard for human dignity."

Pope Benedict also said the Catholic Church was open to learn from other religions, a move which is widely seen as an attempt to improve relations with the Islamic faith.

Relations between the two religions hit rock bottom in 2006 after Pope Benedict quoted a 14th-Century Byzantine emperor in remarks that were taken by Muslims to imply that Islam was violent and irrational.

"The Catholic Church eagerly seeks opportunities to listen to the spiritual experience of other religions," the Pope said.

Earlier on Friday, Pope Benedict urged Christian leaders to work together to help to promote their shared values.

"I think you would agree that the ecumenical movement has reached a critical juncture," he told Christian leaders at the meeting in St Mary's Cathedral.

"We must guard against the temptation to view doctrine as divisive and hence an impediment to the seemingly more pressing and immediate task of improving the world in which we live."