Ramadan this year so unlike many other Ramadans — Cardinal Quevedo

With parts of Mindanao under the shadow of armed conflict that has affected both Muslims and Christians, the Archbishop of Cotabato expressed the solidarity of the Catholic Church with the religious observance of Ramadan and the celebration of the first day of Shawwal.

"I extend to you my greetings of peace in the Almighty and Merciful God," said Cardinal Orlando Quevedo in a statement posted on the Facebook account of the archdiocese.

"You spent the holy month praying not only for Muslim communities but also for those who belong to other religions. You fasted and offered daily sacrifices in spiritual combat against wicked passions such as greed, covetousness, and hatred. I prayed with you and for you in my heart during the whole month," he added.

However, the prelate also noted the sacrilegious actions committed by the Maute group, which led a siege of Marawi City, against both Muslims and Christians.

"But Ramadan this year has been so unlike many other Ramadans," he said.

Both Muslims and Christians living in the Islamic city had to flee their homes because of the ongoing battle between the ISIS-inspired group and government troops.

Quevedo noted that in Pigcawayan, North Cotabato, a Catholic chapel was desecrated, religious statues destroyed, and Sacred Hosts scattered on the ground.

"I have wondered if the killing of the innocent, the deliberate destruction of a Catholic cathedral, the burning of a Protestant college, the kidnapping of civilians, would desecrate the holy month of Ramadan. Muslim scholars have condemned such acts as “unIslamic,”" he said.

"Terroristic and irreligious acts would undoubtedly foment and reinforce hatred for others, rather than eradicate the sinful passions of heart and soul, truly a contradiction to the holy month of Ramadan," he added.

Cardinal Quevedo, however, remains optimistic despite the ongoing turmoil in Mindanao.

"If all of us strive towards the same objectives of purification, reconciliation, and charity in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and in the Catholic season of Lent, if all peoples of different religions would do this, what a truly wonderful world we would have," he said.

"It would not be a world of terror, but one of peace and harmony; not a world of bias and prejudice, but a world of mutual respect and love. That is a world that comes as gift from God. Together with God let us build that world," he added. — BAP, GMA News