In a seemingly ecumenical appeal, the Vatican praised Islamic Ramadan as a means of ‘inner conversion’ and emphasized a parallel with Christian Lent. The message follows Pope Francis’ push for interfaith dialogue, which critics say downplays theological issues.
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican has issued a Ramadan message to Muslims, saying that its coinciding with the Christian season of Lent is “a unique opportunity to walk, side by side.”
“Ramadan appears to us Catholics as a school of inner transformation,” the Vatican wrote today. “By abstaining from food and drink, Muslims learn to control their desires and turn to what is essential.”
Referencing the Catholic liturgical season of Lent, the Vatican favorably compared it with Ramadan:
These spiritual practices, though expressed differently, remind us that faith is not merely about outward expressions, but a path of inner conversion.
The passages are found in the message released today from the Vatican Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue to Muslims for the period of Ramadan, which started on March 1. With Lent beginning a few days later, an increased number of comparisons have been drawn by the Vatican and certain cardinals in apparently ecumenical attempts to align Catholicism and Islam.
“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,” wrote the dicastery’s new prefect Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, who added:
For us Catholics, it is a joy to share this time with you, for it reminds us that we are all pilgrims on this earth, and that we are all seeking to live better lives. This year, we wish to reflect with you not only on what we can do together to live better lives, but above all on what we want to become together, as Christians and Muslims, in a world in search of hope.
Koovakad queried about Catholic-Islam relations: “Do we want to be simple co-workers for a better world, or genuine brothers and sisters, bearing common witness to God’s friendship with all humanity?”
Speaking of “our common vocation,” the cardinal argued that Muslim-Christian relations can answer the world’s desire “for fraternity and genuine dialogue.”
READ: The top five lies about Islam you probably learned in church
“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,” he wrote. Muslims and Christians wish to become “brothers and sisters in humanity who deeply esteem one another,” added the cardinal, continuing:
Our trust in God is a treasure that unites us, far beyond our differences. It reminds us that we are all spiritual, incarnate, beloved creatures, called to live in dignity and mutual respect. What is more, we desire to become guardians of this sacred dignity by rejecting all forms of violence, discrimination and exclusion.
This year, as our two spiritual traditions converge in celebrating Ramadan and Lent, we have a unique opportunity to show the world that faith transforms people and societies, and that it is a force for unity and reconciliation.
As has become very much the norm in such messages, Pope Francis’ 2020 interreligious encyclical Fratelli Tutti was cited, as Koovakad called for “dialogue” to build "a common future founded on fraternity.”
“We do not want simply to coexist; we want to live together in sincere and mutual esteem,” he said of the Islamic-Christian dialogue he envisaged. “The values we share, such as justice, compassion and respect for creation, should inspire our actions and relationships, and serve as our compass in constructing bridges rather than walls, defending justice rather than oppression, protecting the environment rather than destroying it. Our faith and its values should help us to be voices that speak out against injustice and indifference and proclaim the beauty of human diversity.”
Ramadan and its culminating feast should be an “occasion for fraternal encounters between Muslims and Christians, in which we can celebrate together God’s goodness,” Koovakad urged. “May your fasting and other pious practices during Ramadan and the celebration of ‘Id al-Fitr that concludes it, bring you abundant fruits of peace, hope, brotherhood and joy.”
Vatican appeasement toward IslamSuch a message is not novel for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, as the office has issued similar notes in the past.
Particularly with Pope Francis’ personal endeavors, there has been an increased push from the Vatican in recent years to develop friendly relations with adherents of Islam. While Francis has sought unity with Muslims in the style of Fratelli Tutti, a number of leading prelates have warned that Islam rejects fundamental aspects about God and is irreconcilable with Catholicism.
READ: Here’s why Pope Francis is wrong to say Muslims and Catholics worship the same God
In the words of Islam’s holy text itself, it can be noted that there is an outright rejection of many fundamental elements of Catholicism. Firstly, the Koran rejects the notion of God as Trinity; second, it rejects that God has a son, saying it is beneath Him to have one. Third, Jesus is viewed simply as a messenger of God, thus it claims that Mary could not be the Mother of God.
In an August 2016 interview, Cardinal Raymond Burke stated that “I don’t believe it’s true that we’re all worshipping the same God, because the God of Islam is a governor.”
This was echoed by Bishop Athanasius Schneider, who in his book length interview, Christus Vincit, stated “Islam in itself is not faith.”
Indeed, while Ramadan is portrayed by secular media as a period of pious fasting, Islamic scholars have highlighted that it is not quite so. Robert Spencer explained in a 2016 article published in FrontPage Magazine that while Muslims are exhorted “to grow more generous and kind toward their fellow Muslims” during Ramadan, anti-Muslim violence increases during the same period.
“If the Ramadan imperative is to become more devout, the Muslim who applies himself diligently to the Ramadan observance will simultaneously become both more merciful to his fellow Muslims and more severe against the unbelievers,” Spencer wrote.
While the Vatican continues a soft approach toward Muslims, Cardinal Robert Sarah, the prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, has warned against such a stance.
Writing online after an October 2020 attack at a Catholic church in Nice by a Muslim man that left three people dead, the African cardinal called upon “the West” to realize the danger of Islamism:
Islamism is a monstrous fanaticism which must be fought with strength and determination. He will not stop his war. Unfortunately, we Africans know this all too well. Barbarians are always the enemies of peace. The West, today France, must understand this. Let’s pray.
