Vatican message welcomes Idul Fitri

JAKARTA (JP): The Vatican yesterday sent a message of friendship and greeting to Moslems throughout the world as they prepared to celebrate Idul Fitri, the end of the Ramadhan fasting month which falls on Feb. 9 and Feb. 10.

"This period offers an opportunity for Christians to visit their Moslem friends to exchange greetings," Cardinal Francis Arinze, president of the Pontification Council for Interreligious Dialog, said yesterday.

Without neglecting the differences between religions, the cardinal said it was through belief in God that every authentic believer showed their respect for other men and women.

"Religion cannot be thought to authorize us, on the basis of our differences, to adopt negative attitudes towards one another," he said.

He ended his statement by saying Moslems and Christians might need to work together more closely and effectively if they were to answer the questions of the coming millennium. (mds)