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Skriven 2004-11-06 08:57:18 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service (Press Release)
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              The following press release is Copyrighted by the
                        Vatican Information Service.
              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                               VIS-Press releases

CHILDREN ARE FOCUS OF MESSAGE FOR END OF RAMADAM

VATICAN CITY, NOV 5, 2004 (VIS) - Made public today was the annual Message for
all Muslims at the end of Ramadan from the Pontifical Council for Inter-
religious Dialogue and council president, Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald. The
theme of the Message this year ('Id al-Fitr 1425 A.H./2004 A.D.) was "Children,
Gift of God for the Future of Humanity."

Following are excerpts from the Message, released in English, French and
Italian:

"At the earliest age possible you teach your children to observe this month of
fasting, thus developing in them a sense of God and a spirit of religious
obedience. . In this way the family is, par excellence, the place where your
children receive their first religious education.

"Today I would like to call attention to children in general and to the welcome
they should receive, at different moments of their life, from their parents,
their family and from society. Every child has an inalienable right to life
and, in so far as this is possible, to be welcomed within a natural, stable
family. All children have moreover the right to nourishment, clothing and
protection, and furthermore to be educated."

"You consider the child to be a blessing from God, in particular for the
parents. As Christians we share with you this religious attitude, but our
Christian faith teaches us also to discover in the child a model for our
relationship with God."

"On several occasions these last years representatives of the Holy See and of
countries with a Muslim majority have defended together in international fora
fundamental human values. It was often a matter of defending the rights of
those who are the weakest, and notably the family as the natural environment in
which children are nurtured and their rights are better preserved.

"Although the child has benefited, . there are still many evils which cause
suffering (child labor, sexual abuse, children conscripted for war, families
that break up, drug use and abuse, trafficking in organs)."

"Dear friends, we should unite our efforts, reminding people of the dignity of
every human being whose existence is willed by God Himself. We should denounce
untiringly everything that degrades the child, combating with all the force we
can muster the "structures of sin", to use an expression taken up by Pope John
Paul II. We are conscious that on the future of children depends the future of
humanity."
CON-DIR/RAMADAM:CHILDREN/FITZGERALDVIS 041105 (400)

SUMMARY

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