As we approach the festival of Eid at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Holy See has sent a message of greeting to the world’s Muslims.
Titled “Christians and Muslims: Working together for mankind’s spiritual dimension”, President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Jean-Loius Cardinal Tauran, stresses the common ground between Christians and Muslims:
“Christians and Muslims, beyond their differences, recognise the dignity of the human person endowed with both rights and duties. They think that intelligence and freedom are indeed gifts which must impel believers to recognise these values which are shared because they rest on the same human nature.
“This is why the transmission of such human and moral values to the younger generations constitutes a common concern. It is our duty to help them discover that there is both good and evil, that conscience is a sanctuary to be respected, and that cultivating the spiritual dimension makes us more responsible, more supportive, more available for the common good.”
The message also looks at shared religious discrimination:
“Christians and Muslims are too often witnesses to the violation of the sacred, of the mistrust of which those who call themselves believers are the target. We cannot but denounce all forms of fanaticism and intimidation, the prejudices and the polemics, as well as the discrimination of which, at times, believers are the object both in the social and political life as well as in the mass media.”
Vatican message for the end of Ramadan 2011 (Islam)
Vatican message for the end of Ramadan 2011 – in Arabic (Islam)
Link
