Niek de Goeij is speaking as separatist and Islamist terrorists continue to cause violence in the north African country, despite a peace agreement in June between the Mali government and rebel groups who wanted to form a separate state.
Working for the Catholic Relief Service, Mr Goeij said many young people were turning to terrorism because they couldn't find a job.
He also said Muslim and other locals not only respected the fact they were a Christian organisation, but actually protected them because of it.
Mr Goeij told the Catholic News Service: "The tensions here aren't between Christians and Muslims - if people are left in peace, they get on as well as they always did.
"[If] someone comes with a motivating agenda, using religious arguments about fighting some enemy, and offering a gun and $50 a month, it's easy to see how they get sucked in.
"If such people had money in the bank, education for their children, access to health care and trust in services, the country would be able to remove the pockets of extremism still existing here."
"... people know our work, and our Christian and Catholic identity, far from being a liability, provides an extra protective cloak. This acceptance posture is a real blessing.
"As in other countries here, Christians and Muslims routinely intermarry, often undergoing Christian, Muslim and traditional weddings, and communal relations are close.
"If violence flares, it's usually interethnic, rather than interreligious, involving issues such as water access or animal grazing."
Mali is a secular state with freedom of religion. Around 87% of the country are Muslims, with less than three percent being Christians.
