Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Fides Service) – To mark the Feast of ‘Id al-Fitr, 1424 A.H. / 2003 A.D.) which closes the Muslim Ramadan month of prayer and fasting Archbishop Michael L. Fitzgerald President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue issued the annual message of good wishes to all Muslims throughout the world. This year the message “Construction of Peace” draws inspiration from the encyclical on peace written by Blessed Pope John XXIII. “In this letter, entitled Pacem in Terris, Peace on Earth, it was suggested that peace is an edifice resting on four pillars: Truth, Justice, Love and Freedom. Each of these values has to be present if there are to be good and harmonious relations between peoples and between nations” Archbishop Fitzgerald tells Muslims in his message.
“Truth is the first pillar, for it includes the recognition that human beings are not their own masters…in human relations truth implies sincerity, essential to mutual confidence and fruitful dialogue leading to peace.” Peace cannot exist “ without justice, respect for the dignity and rights of each human person. It is the lack of justice, in individual, social and international relations, that causes so much unrest in our world today, and brings about violence”. Nevertheless justice must be tempered by love: “ This implies the ability to recognise that we all belong to one human family, and so to see our fellow human beings as our brothers and sisters. It gives the capacity to share in both sorrows and joys. It makes people feel the needs of others as if they were one’s own, and this empathy leads them to share their own gifts with others, not only material goods but also the values of mind and spirit. Love also makes allowances for weakness, and so includes the ability to forgive. This forgiveness is essential to the restoration of peace when conflict has broken out, for it opens up the possibility of beginning again, on a new basis, in a restored relationship.” An essential characteristic of the person is freedom which “freedom allows people to act according to reason and to assume responsibility for their own actions.”
After illustrating the four pillars indicated by Pope John XXIII, the President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue suggests a fifth pillar, prayer: “For we know– he writes - that as human beings, we are weak. We find it hard to live up to these ideals. We need God’s help, and this we have to implore humbly.” Referring to the 2nd world Day of Prayer for Peace convoked by Pope John Paul II on 24 January 2002, Archbishop Fitzgerald concludes his message quoting the Holy Father: “To build the peace of order, justice and freedom requires, therefore, a priority commitment to prayer, which is openness, listening, dialogue and finally union with God, the prime wellspring of true peace."
The Message is also available in Arabic from Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue: please apply to pcid-office@interelg.va
(S.L.) (Fides Service 18/11/2003 – lines 49 words 554)
