As the fundamental cell of society, the family is equally respected in the Christian world as it is in the Muslim world, cardinal Tauran says. It is where one learns to respect others and be mindful of their identity; it therefore cannot but benefit inter-religious dialogue.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The family, an institution equally respected in the Christian world as it is in the Muslim world, represents a privileged field of co-operation for people of different faiths, this according to Christians and Muslims: Together for the dignity of the family, which is title to the message that the president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue issued this year as he does every year on the occasion of the end of Ramadan.

“During this month,” Card Jean-Louis Tauran wrote, “Christians close to you have shared your reflections and your family celebrations; dialogue and friendship have been strengthened. Praise be to God!”

“As in the past, this friendly rendez-vous also gives us an opportunity to reflect together on a mutually topical subject which will enrich our exchange and help us to get to know each other better, in our shared values as well as in our differences. This year we would like to propose the subject of the family.”

In mentioning what the Second Vatican Council said about the central place of the family, Cardinal Tauran noted that “Christians and Muslims can and must work together to safeguard the dignity of the family, today and in the future.”

“We have already had many occasions, from the local to the international level, to work together in this field. The family, that place where love and life, respect for the other and hospitality are encountered and transmitted, is truly the ‘fundamental cell of society’.”

“Muslims and Christians,” he added, “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. I need only remind you that the family is the first school in which one learns respect for others, mindful of the identity and the difference of each one. Inter-religious dialogue and the exercise of citizenship cannot but benefit from this.”

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