Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Delivers Remarks at the 2025 Forum on Faith Conference

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul delivered remarks at the 2025 Forum on Faith conference — a discussion that explores faith’s role in how leaders in government, religion, business and education can collaborate to strengthen communities. The Governor discussed the urgent need for unity in the face of political differences, and encouraged leaders to harken faith’s role in mending the divide.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor’s Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

 Good afternoon, everyone. Wow, what an incredible gathering. I only wish this was Congress where everybody was sitting together from different perspectives and gave us more hope — but hope originates in rooms like this, and I'm so proud of what we've accomplished here together.

And I want to thank our Elder, David Marriott, for envisioning this opportunity and for all the work that he's done. And I also wanted to express our heartfelt sympathies to all members of the Church of Latter Day Saints for the horrific, horrific attack that occurred in Michigan just a few weeks ago. We've extended that sense of shock, but also all of us feel particularly vulnerable. All of our religious institutions feel that in this day and age — when there's so much hatred that's just boiling up — that attacks in our religious institutions are particularly egregious. But we all know that this is something we must stand together and support each other.

I also want to recognize Reverend Dr. A.R. Bernard, the President of the Executive Interfaith Council that we've convened a few years ago to give me a better line of sight and understanding of what the leaders of the faith-based community are hearing all over the State of New York. And we have 23 members basically representing all faiths who understand that there is an incredible linkage between our policies and what we do in state government, and what occurs in your place of worship — and how we all have the same objective, and that is to make all of God's children have a better life and to lift them up. And that is basically all we're talking about.

I want to thank Reverend Carl Washington, a member of my Faith Council — I want to thank you for all your leadership as well. I think we're expecting to see a representative of my faith — I was raised as a Roman Catholic — His Eminence, Cardinal Dolan.

We are also fortunate to have the Chief Judge that I was able to make as one of my early appointments, the Chief Judge of the New York State Court Appeals, Chief Judge Rowan Wilson. And we also have a number of other individuals too. Dr. Caura Washington — who I know was honored this morning — let's give her another round of applause. Office of Faith and Nonprofit Development Services. She's the one you want to go to for the money, so make sure you all have her on speed dial. And that was part of what this inception was all about. It's not just talking the talk and saying, “Oh, we have a faith council. We checked the box.”

I'm very much a non-check-the-box person. I want results. I want meaningful conversations. I want takeaways. I want to know that we're making a real difference, because otherwise, why are we taking the time of so many people who have so much work to do in their own communities? So this was important to me that we actually move progress forward instead of stagnating and saying that we've done all we can. So I'm really grateful for those opportunities.

I will also say, I was raised as a social justice Catholic, I'm not sure else to describe it. My parents made sure that as a young child — they're big families, as I mentioned, I'm Irish Catholic, big family — that we had engagement with other faiths. And they're part of this leadership couple in our community — I'm from Buffalo — where we'd get together, and different religious observances, and bring people to our homes from different faiths and taught me the beauty of the diversity of the faith-based community and how it affected our own lives. And again, that common denominator of learning the teachings that I was taught and understanding that that's a universal language.

In so many of your faiths, we're called to act while we're on this limited time on Earth, we're called. And all of us are judged ultimately on how we deliver on those obligations we have as just citizens of the world. And I know that the people in this room take this seriously. As you look out for the health, and welfare and being of all those who look to you for leadership.

You were all very much tested during the pandemic. I know so many times it was our religious institutions stepped forward and were a place of comfort, especially those communities that were so hard hit in New York City here where people just didn't know what was happening, and the loss of life was extraordinary, and the fear and anxiety — and yet, many of you stepped up and helped us bring life-saving vaccinations and did everything you could to save lives and to get us support for our health care workers that looked to you for leadership. So I will never lose sight of the power when there's a crisis of all of you stepping up and performing the way you did so beautifully and so naturally.

I would also submit we have another crisis right now. It can be known as a crisis of faith, but it's also a crisis of lack of faith in our institutions. And it's a lack of institutional faith that we have right now that I think is very damaging to our nation. And I want to make sure that as we're talking about solutions here over the next day; I know we're talking about societal problems and what we can do together, and I'm really proud of that — I'm looking forward to the takeaway. But also, any of your insights on how we can have a national reckoning and a national healing where the lessons that are being taught from your pulpits and in institutions across the state are actually seeping into the people who come to you and somehow percolate up to our national leadership.

And those who represent us in elective office know that they have an obligation to not be divisive, and not just to show how polarized and different we are, but to have a unifying force. And I believe that's the power of religion — it can be a unifying force for all those who believe. And I'm going to challenge you to figure out what that looks like, how we get to that place.

It's not an easy task. If I knew the answer, I'd be doing it right now. But can we at least introduce that as part of the conversation? How — at this moment in history of a nation that is still relatively young, 250 years of existence — this democratic experience is being tested right now? And all of us, I believe, have a moral responsibility to make sure that we endure these stress tests, and that people feel confident that they're going to be okay and not have to worry about what's happening in Washington, or in state capitals or in cities — what's happening right now — but they can just get back to, “You know, I'm okay. My kids are going to be okay. I can get a good education. I'm not going to lose my health care. I'm not going to lose my job because of tariffs or government shutdowns.”

So I know you're feeling this overwhelming sense of anxiety and all of you dedicate your lives just trying to calm down people who look to you at this moment in history. But I'm also looking to you at this moment in history as a leader of this state representing 20 million people. I take this very seriously and want to make sure that we're aligned together on what we can do, not just in policies. And again, we're going to continue fighting the scourge of opioid addiction and drug abuse. I lost a nephew to this horrible, horrible disease a few years ago — this is personal to us. But how we build more housing, give people the opportunity to believe in homeownership, or at least getting an apartment that they can be proud of and raise their children in.

But also, public safety. I was just with the Commissioner of Police this morning doing an event to talk about how, right now, we're losing millions and millions of dollars of money to support our subways. All of you understand how important the subway system is. It is the lifeblood of this region. If people stop feeling comfortable and safe because we don't have the money to protect it, then we are in a very, very dark place. So these are policies that I believe in, I care about — you believe in and care about. We also have to make sure that our voices are heard loud and clear of who we're fighting for when it comes to standing up to policies that we believe are hurting our residents, and our constituents and our parishioners.

So, that's our call to action in my opinion. Regardless of what you believe — your political beliefs, you can check those at the door. That's fine, because the mission is larger than politics. It's larger than two different parties. It is larger than all of us. It's, “What are we doing at this moment in time when our country is under stress, our residents are under stress, our families and communities are under stress? And what are we doing to ameliorate that and to bring God's word through the diversity of faiths in this room, to people to let them know, ‘Do not give up.’”

Hope means everything, and the reinforcement of that message — in addition to not just the belief, but also tangible results and progress that we're looking out for others and not just ourselves — is critically, critically important. So I ask all of you to do that. I ask all of you to continue advising me on what that path should look like.

And so, at a time of political violence and war — and we pray that there is a resolution to what has been happening in Gaza and in Israel over the last two years — we need the healing there. This is one of the most complicated places in the world, but we believe that there is an opening at this time when hostages are returned, and peace is resumed and humanitarian aid continues to flow. I am optimistic about this, but that is just one part of our world.

There are so many places around our world where people are losing the dignity of their lives, and having health care withdrawn or support from the federal government — which I find egregious that we're withdrawing money, and vaccinations, and support and food from other countries as a national policy. So let's also continue to speak out against policies like that to stand up for what we believe in here in New York, because I believe in New York. I really believe in this state. I believe that others look to us for leadership.

And you, I'm looking to for the leadership to drive us to a better place based on our beliefs, our shared beliefs, that there is a God who's watching what we do, who's inspiring us, who gives us the words to live by — and I'll continue as your Governor to do that as well.

So congratulations to everyone who put this together. Great event. And Caura Washington, I want to thank you once again from the bottom of my heart for being a driver of change that is so necessary. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.