Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Vatican urges Christians, Muslims to protect 'family dignity'

The Vatican on Friday focused its annual address to Muslims to mark the end of Ramadan on the joint defence of "family dignity."

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who is responsible for dialogue between the Vatican and Muslims, said Ramadan gives Christians and Muslims the chance to better understand each other.

"During this month Christians close to you have shared your reflections and your family celebrations; dialogue and friendship have been strengthened," he wrote in a message.

The Vatican representative for inter-religious dialogue called on both religions to work together "to safeguard family dignity."

"Given the high esteem in which both Muslims and Christian hold the family, we have already had many occasions, from the local to the international level, to work together in this field. The family (...) is truly the fundamental cell of society," Tauran wrote.

"Muslims and Christians must never hesitate, not only to come to the aid of families in difficulty, but also to collaborate with all those who support the stability of the family as an institution and the exercise of parental responsibility, in particular in the field of education," he added.

He underlined that "the family is the first school in which one learns respect for others, mindful of the identity and the difference of each one."

The fasting and feasting month of Ramadan, which began this year at the beginning of September on the sighting of the new moon, lasts one lunar month.
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(Source: MEO)