Shafaqna English- In its message for Ramadhan, the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue emphasizes that Christians and Muslims can collaborate for peace.
As it does every year during the month of fasting, the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue has released its message for Ramadhan.
This year’s message, signed by the Dicastery’s new prefect, Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, is centered on the theme: “Christians and Muslims: What We Hope to Become Together.”
“This time of fasting, prayer, and sharing,” the message reads, “is a privileged opportunity to draw closer to God and be renewed in the fundamental values of religion, compassion and solidarity. This year, Ramadhan largely coincides with Lent, which for Christians is a period of fasting, supplication and conversion to Christ.”
This rare alignment in the religious calendar, Cardinal Koovakad writes, “offers a unique opportunity to walk side-by-side, Christians and Muslims, in a common process of purification, prayer and charity.”
Both Ramadhan and Lent, through their calls to devotion and self-discipline, serve as reminders that faith “is not just about outward gestures but a journey of inner conversion,” the message emphasizes.
However, Cardinal Koovakad warns that “in a world marked by injustice, conflict, and uncertainty about the future, our shared calling cannot be reduced to spiritual practices alone.” He stresses that Christians and Muslims “can bear witness together to the hope that friendship is possible, despite the weight of history and the ideologies that divide us.”