In message to Muslims, cardinal touches on violence, terrorism

Published: 2007-09-28

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a message to the Muslim world, a leading Vatican official denounced terrorism and all violence committed in the name of religion. The message also took aim at religious discrimination, saying the rights of all believers must be protected during the "troubled times we are passing through." The text, released by the Vatican Sept. 28, marked the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of prayer and fasting that concludes in mid-October. It was written by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who took over as head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue earlier this year. Christians and Muslims, the cardinal said, need to intensify their dialogue so that younger generations "do not become cultural or religious blocs opposed to each other." Cardinal Tauran began and ended his message by expressing the church's "warmest greetings" to the Islamic world. But the text touched on a number of sensitive issues, especially those of religious liberty, violence and terrorism.

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