The Vatican has expressed its solidarity with Muslims participating in the Ramadan fast, noting that Catholics also fast and do penance during the season of Lent and inviting greater dialogue and friendship between people of the two religions. Source: CNA.
“Our world is thirsting for fraternity and genuine dialogue,” a message from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue said on Friday. “Together, Muslims and Christians can bear witness to this hope in the conviction that friendship is possible despite the burden of history and ideologies that promote exclusion.”
“Hope,” it continued, “is no mere optimism: It is a virtue rooted in faith in God, the Merciful, our Creator.”
In 2025, Ramadan runs from approximately February 28 to March 29. It concludes with the three-day celebration of Eid al-Fitr.
The Christian season of Lent began on March 5 and will end on April 17 with the three days known as the Triduum — Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday — followed by Easter Sunday.
“This year, Ramadan largely coincides with Lent, which for Christians is a period of fasting, supplication, and conversion to Christ,” the dicastery said. “This proximity in the spiritual calendar offers us a unique opportunity to walk side by side, Christians and Muslims, in a common process of purification, prayer, and charity.”
The Vatican’s annual message for Ramadan was signed by the dicastery’s new prefect, Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, and its secretary, Father Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage.
In its message, the interreligious dicastery noted similarities between the Muslim observance of Ramadan and the Catholic observance of Lent.
The dicastery said it wanted to reflect on how Christians and Muslims can become “genuine brothers and sisters, bearing common witness to God’s friendship with all humanity”.
FULL STORY
Vatican expresses solidarity with Muslims during Ramadan fast (By Hannah Brockhaus, CNA)
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