Vatican City, 26 March 2014 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon
Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin sent a message, on behalf of the
Holy Father Francis, to the participants in the eighth Islamic-Christian Prayer
Meeting, “Together around Mary, Our Lady”. The meeting, which took place in
Beirut, Lebanon, to celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation, was organised
by the St. Joseph University Alumni Assocation and the College of Our Lady of
Jamhour.
The Holy Father shows his joy at seeing “Christians and
Muslims united in their devotion to the Virgin Mary”, and comments that “the
shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa is a blessed place where everyone can
go to invoke heTr”. He also encourages Christians and Muslims to “work together
for peace and for the common good, thus contributing to the full development of
the person and the edification of society”, and entrusts the participants in
the meeting “and all the inhabitants of Lebanon to the maternal intercession of
the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace and Protectress of Lebanon”.
___________________________________________________________
(2) THE VIRGIN MARY IN ISLAMIC-CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE
Vatican City, 26 March 2014 (VIS) – “The Virgin Mary and
Islamic-Christian dialogue” was the theme of the address given by Fr. Miguel
Angel Ayuso, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue,
during the eighth meeting of the Islamic-Christian Prayer Meeting which took
place yesterday in Beirut, Lebanon, on 25 March, Solemnity of the Annunciation,
which is celebrated by both Christians and Muslims. It is an important occasion
and was declared a national holiday by the Lebanese government in 2010. In his
address, which focused both on the figure of Mary and on the mission of the
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Fr. Ayuso emphasised that the
feast of 25 March was “a true example of the co-existence between Muslims and
Christians that characterises Lebanese history, in the midst of so many
difficulties, and which also constitutes an important example for many other
nations”.
“Since Vatican Council II, the Catholic Church recognises
that Muslims honour the Virgin mother of Jesus, Mary, and invoke her with
piety. … Mary is mentioned various times in the Koran. Respect for her is so
evident that when she is mentioned in Islam, it is usual to add 'Alayha
l-salam' ('Peace be upon her'). Christians also willingly join in this invocation.
I must also mention those shrines dedicated to Mary which welcome both Muslims
and Christians. In particular, here in Lebanon, how can we forget the shrine of
Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa?”
“Devotion creates sentiments of friendship: it is a phenomenon
open to everyone. The cultural experiences that our communities can share
encourage collaboration, solidarity and mutual recognition as sons and
daughters of a single God, members of the same human family. Therefore, the
Church addresses the followers of Islam with esteem. During the last fifty
years, a dialogue of friendship and mutual respect has been constructed”.
With reference to the dialogue between Muslims and
Christians, he went on to explain that the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue “seeks to establish regular relationships with Muslim
institutions and organisations, with the aim of promoting mutual understanding
and trust, friendship and, where possible, collaboration. In fact, there exist
agreements with various Muslim institutions enabling the possibility of holding
periodical meetings, in accordance with the programmes and procedures approved
by both parties. With regard to the methods of interreligious dialogue and,
therefore, the dialogue between Christians and Muslims, we must recall that
dialogue is a two-way form of communication. … It is based on witness of one's
own faith and, at the same time, openness to the religion of the other. It is
not a betrayal of the mission of the Church, and much less a new method of
conversion to Christianity. The document 'Dialogue and Proclamation', published
jointly by the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and the Council
for Interreligious Dialogue in 1991, identifies four different forms of
interreligious dialogue: the dialogue of life, the dialogue of works, the
dialogue of theological exchange and the dialogue of religious experience.
These four forms demonstrate that it is not an experience confined to
specialists”.
Fr. Ayuso concluded by analysing the role of Mary, in the
light of the motto of the national holiday in Lebanon, “Together around Mary,
Our Lady”. “In the Apostolic Exhortation 'Marialis Cultus', promulgated in 1974
by Pope Paul VI, Mary is presented as 'the Virgin who listens', 'the Virgin who
prays', 'the Virgin in dialogue with God'. … But there is also the image of a
model of dialogue of seeking when, addressing the Archangel Gabriel, she asks,
'How is it possible?'. Mary, a model for Muslims and Christians, is also a
model of dialogue, teaching us to believe, not to close ourselves up in
certainties, but rather to remain open and available to others”.
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