The Catholic Diocese of Oyo chapter, Inter-religious dialogue commission under the leadership of the Catholic Bishop of Oyo Diocese Most Rev. Emmanuel Badejo and the director for Inter-religious dialogue Rev. Father Joseph Ogundipe, congratulates the Muslim brothers and sisters for the completion of the 2018 Ramadan fast and the celebration of Eid al- Fitr.

Rev. Father Ogundipe made this known in a press release made available to CEOAfrica on June 16 where he relayed the Ramadan message from The Holy Father, Pope Francis who advise Muslim faithful’s to avoid spirit of competition as interreligious competition emitte havoc to the society. Read the full statement below:

Dear Muslim Brothers and Sisters,

May the peace and joy of the Holy Month of Ramadan continue to sustain you always!

On behalf of all the good people of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo I wish to congratulate you as you celebrate Id al-Fitr. May Allah accept your supplications and endow you with his numerous blessings.  It is our belief that your prayers will reach the throne of God and bring much divine favor and grace upon our country Nigeria and all our families.

I also wish to cherish the legacy of our peaceful coexistence and collaboration in Oyo State. As you know, the Catholic Diocese of Oyo diocese is very particularly interested and involved in interreligious dialogue and collaboration. I trust that the same can be said about you and I thank you for this necessary disposition which can only engender peace and harmony.  In view of the unfortunate happenings of intolerance and bloodshed in in some parts of our country I seize this opportunity to urge that we all do more to promote religious harmony.

The Holy Father, Pope Francis in his letter to Muslims for the Month of Ramadan and ‘Id Al-Fitr 1439H, pointed out that we must avoid the spirit of competition that has too often marked past relations between Christians and Muslims, the negative consequences of which are evident: jealousy, recriminations and tensions. Such interreligious competition wounds the image of religions and their followers, and it fosters the view that religions are not sources of peace, but of tension and violence.

Let us all join hands in condemning these evils and work more to respect each other and our religious values. Let us shun leaders who exploit religious sentiments as a tool for selfish political gains and uphold values that make us human and more humane with one another.

Once again, have a blessing-filled celebration. Barka kum Allahu kulu shain, ed Mubarak’’.