Vatican urges Muslims and
Christians to protect places of worship
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| Egyptian skyline with a minaret and church belltowers visible (AFP) |
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue releases
its annual message for the Muslim month of Ramadan, and encourages everyone to
protect all places of worship.
By Devin Watkins
As Muslims celebrate the month of Ramadan, the Vatican is
urging both Muslims and Christians to protect places of worship.
In a message released on Friday for Ramadan and the feast of Eid
al-Fitr, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue recalls the
centrality of this month for Muslims.
“It is a time for spiritual healing and growth, of sharing
with the poor, of strengthening bonds with relatives and friends,” reads the
message.
The Council wishes all Muslims “prayerful best wishes and
hearty congratulations”.
Spaces of prayer
This year’s message focuses on places of worship. “For both
Christians and Muslims, churches and mosques are spaces reserved for prayer,
personal and communitarian alike. They are constructed and furnished in a way
that favours silence, reflection and meditation.”
As the prophet Isaiah says, they are “a house of prayer”.
The Council calls places of worship “spaces for spiritual
hospitality” for special events like weddings, funerals, and community feasts.
“Such practice is a privileged witness to what unites
believers, without diminishing or denying what distinguishes them.”
Sign of harmony
The Ramadan message also recalls the Document on Human Fraternity, signed by Pope Francis and
the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar.
It quotes a portion of the Document which states: “Meeting
one another in fraternal friendship in this place of prayer is a powerful sign,
one that shows the harmony which religions can build together, based on
personal relations and on the good will of those responsible.”
Target of senseless violence
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue then
condemns recent attacks on churches, mosques, and synagogues “by wicked persons
who seem to perceive the places of worship as a privileged target for their
blind and senseless violence”.
International efforts to protect those places of worship are
worthy of praise, reads the message.
It also expresses the hope that “our mutual esteem, respect
and cooperation will help strengthen the bonds of sincere friendship, and
enable our communities to safeguard the places of worship to assure for coming
generations the fundamental freedom to profess one's own beliefs.”
Finally, the Council wishes all Muslims a “fruitful month of
Ramadan and a joyous Eid al-Fitr.”
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