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Ärende: Vatican Information Service - Press Release
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                               VIS-Press releases

PRESENTATION OF MESSAGE FOR END OF RAMADAN

VATICAN CITY, OCT 20, 2006 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office this morning, a
press conference was held to present the annual Message to Muslims for the end
of the month of Ramadan, published by the Pontifical Council for Inter-
religious Dialogue.

Participating in the conference were Cardinal Paul Poupard, Archbishop Pier
Luigi Celata, and Msgr. Felix Anthony Machado, respectively president,
secretary and under-secretary of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious
Dialogue, and Msgr. Khaled Akashed, bureau chief of the council's office for
relations with Islam.

Cardinal Poupard pointed out how his council "sends messages of good will to
the followers of the three of the world's major religions: Buddhists, Hindus
and Muslims." The council's offices, he said, enjoy regular visits from
"Shinoists, Sikhs, ... and exponents of other eastern religions. ... These
visits, with reciprocal exchange of expressions of good will, are returned by
the pontifical council."

Among the initiatives being promoted by his dicastery, the cardinal mentioned a
meeting in Assisi, Italy, to be held from November 4 to 8, of "100 young
people, 50 Christians and 50 from other religious traditions and various
countries," for the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer
for Peace. The aim is "to reflect and to exchange ideas, in the hope that the
meeting may help young people to be instruments of dialogue, of peace and of
hope for the world."

The next to speak was Archbishop Celata who outlined the history of the
Messages to Muslims, first published in 1967 by the then Secretariat for non-
Christians. It was felt, he said, that Ramadan "represented an appropriate
moment for the Holy See dicastery charged with promoting relations with
different religious traditions, to present itself to the various Muslim
communities, expressing sentiments of friendly participation in their joy."

"Over all these years," he continued, "the Message has attracted growing
appreciation, attention and interest. Little by little, the number of Muslim
personalities who have responded has increased. ... Of particular significance
is the appreciation of bishops, some of whom accompany the release of the
Message with a personal letter of their own."

Turning to consider the contents of the message, the archbishop explained that
they "are not limited to formal expressions of good will, but seek to establish
'contact,' to create a harmony with the recipients on a 'religious' plane, that
is, on the basis of those elements that encouraged the Fathers of Vatican
Council II to declare the Church's esteem for Muslims."

The Messages to Muslims also cover "questions of common interest, not
infrequently arising from current affairs, ... with the aim of promoting
reflection to encourage better understanding of certain fundamental human
values, and the contribution of both religions to solving certain difficult
situations."

For his part, Msgr. Machado presented a book recently published by the council:
"Inter-religious Dialogue. The official teaching of the Catholic Church from
the Second Vatican Council to John Paul II (1963-2005)." Over a 1,000 pages
long, it has been published in Italian, French and English.

This volume, said the under-secretary of the pontifical council, gives
"Catholics easy access to the theological motivations of inter-religious
dialogue as explained in the Magisterium," and "offers followers of other
faiths the official teaching of the Catholic Church on the various religions of
the world."
OP/RAMADAN MESSAGE/POUPARD:CELATA VIS 061020 (560)

SUMMARY

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