Dear Muslim friends,
1. The end of the month of Ramadan offers the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue a welcome occasion for sending you our most
cordial
wishes, hoping that the efforts you have so generously made during this
month
will bring all the desired spiritual fruits.
2. This year, we have thought to give priority to the theme of the
spiritual
dimension of the human person. This concerns a reality which
Christians and
Muslims consider to be of prime importance, faced as we are with the
challenges of materialism and secularisation. The relationship that
every human
person has with the transcendent is not a moment in history, but is part
of
human nature. We do not believe in fate; we are convinced – moreover it
is our
experience – that God guides us on our path!
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
We are spiritually very close to you, dear Friends, asking God to give
you
renewed spiritual energy and we send you our very best wishes for peace
and
happiness.
Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran
President
Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata
Secretary
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL
FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
00120 Vatican City
Telephone: 0039.06.6988 4321
Fax: 0039.06.6988 4494
E-mail: dialogo@interrel.va
