Pope Francis sends message to Muslims to wish them the end of Ramadan

It is has been a Vatican tradition for the past 40 years to send its wishes to the world’s Muslims for Eid al-Fitr, the feast of fast breaking which marks the end of Ramadan. The message is usually signed by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the dicastery in charge of the Catholic Church’s relations with Islam.

 

But Francis wanted to give his message a more personal touch as a sign of special attention to his Muslim brothers, so he signed it in person: “This year, the first of my Pontificate, I have decided to sign this traditional message myself and to send it to you, dear friends, as an expression of esteem and friendship for all Muslims, especially those who are religious leaders,” the Pope wrote.

 

The President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Jean-Louis Tauran, told Vatican Radio that this was the Pope’s “own, personal initiative.” He said Francis wanted to show “the great respect he has for Muslim faithful.” Francis had already stressed the importance of dialogue among different faiths “especially with Islam” at his meeting with the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See on 22 March.

 

But Tauran recalled that a year or so ago, when Jorge Bergoglio was still a cardinal, he had “sent a priest from the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires to Cairo to study Arabic because he wanted to have someone who was able to engage in dialogue specifically with Islam.”

 

Francis is not the first Pope to send a personal message to Muslims to wish them for the end of Ramadan. John Paul II also sent a message in 1991, just after the first Gulf War, to express his sadness and solidarity to victims.

 

Francis’ message focuses on “mutual respect” among the faiths, which is to be built above all by educating the new generations about other religions and their followers, “avoid[ing] ridiculing or denigrating their convictions and practices.”

 

The Pope recalls that Francis of Assisi - whose name he adopted – “loved God and every human being deeply, to the point of being called “universal brother”. He loved, helped and served the needy, the sick and the poor; he also cared greatly for creation,” the Pope added, without the time the saint held a conversation with the Sultan, an event that has been i9nterpreted in many different ways.

 

““Respect” means an attitude of kindness towards people for whom we have consideration and esteem. “Mutual” means that this is not a one-way process, but something shared by both sides. What we are called to respect in each person is first of all his life, his physical integrity, his dignity and the rights deriving from that dignity, his reputation, his property, his ethnic and cultural identity, his ideas and his political choices,” the Pope wrote.

“We are therefore called to think, speak and write respectfully of the other, not only in his presence, but always and everywhere, avoiding unfair criticism or defamation…to respect the religion of the other, its teachings, its symbols, its values.” “How painful are attacks on one or other of these!”

 

Cardinal Tauran said Francis is “aware of the fact that we actually do not know each other enough.” But, the cardinal said, the Pope’s cordiality and simplicity should not be mistaken for naivety.” “He is clearly aware of the difficulties that exist, but he is kind; naturally he is careful not to neglect the Christians suffering in countries where the majority of the population is Muslim but he also does not forget the Muslims who are often discriminated against in other countries.”

 Source: Vatican Insider