Pope Francis honors George Clooney, Richard Gere, Salma Hayek

Pope Francis honoured Hollywood actors Richard Gere, George Clooney and Salma Hayek with the Olive Medal of Peace in an event to promote the Scholas Occurrentes foundation.

The A-listers have agreed to work as ambassadors for the foundation's arts projects, said The Hollywood Reporter.

Scholas Occurrentes, or "schools that meet," is a foundation that links 400,000 schools and educational networks from various cultures and religions in 82 countries.

"It was a wonderful experience and it's a wonderful program that Scholas Occurrentes runs, causing so many different religions to speak of inclusion, because we know that hatred and fundamentalist attitudes are learned and indoctrinated," Clooney, who attended the event with his wife Amal, said.
 

Hayek was joined by husband Francois-Henri Pinault and daughter Valentina.

"Important values can be transmitted by celebrities," said Lorena Bianchetti, an organizer of the event.