Cebu prelate to Christians, Muslims: ‘We are brothers and sisters in our common humanity’

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CHURCH leaders renewed their call for peace and interfaith solidarity as Muslims and Christians began observing Ramadan and the Lenten season at the same time this year, a convergence they described as an opportunity for dialogue, cooperation, and shared action.

Cebu Archbishop Alberto Uy underscored that faith communities must look beyond religious labels and focus on shared humanity, stressing that people of different beliefs remain bound by the same dignity and responsibility toward one another.

This year, both Ramadan and Lent began on Feb. 18, a rare convergence due to the differences between the Christian solar-based Gregorian calendar and the Muslim lunar-based Hijri calendar.

Lent, observed by Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and some Protestant churches, marks about 40 days of fasting, prayer, reflection, and charity leading up to Easter.

Meanwhile, Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, involves fasting from dawn to sunset, prayer, and charitable acts, commemorating the month the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

The simultaneous observance offers a unique opportunity for interfaith reflection, dialogue, and cooperation.

“Whether we are Christians or Muslims, Catholics or Protestants, or belong to any other faith tradition, we share one fundamental truth: we are brothers and sisters in our common humanity,” Uy said.

The archbishop said genuine faith does not foster hatred or division but leads believers toward respect, compassion, and concern for others.

He added that people of faith carry a responsibility to build bridges, protect human dignity, and respond to conflict with understanding rather than prejudice.

“This is why promoting peace is not optional for believers — it is part of our calling,” Uy said.

Uy emphasized that peace grows when communities choose dialogue over suspicion, cooperation over rivalry, and shared care for the poor, suffering, and vulnerable.

He said religion fulfills its true purpose when it becomes a force that heals wounds rather than deepens divisions.

Similar themes were raised by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, which noted that the simultaneous start of Ramadan and Lent presents a rare moment for Muslims and Christians to strengthen interfaith solidarity.

Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Inter-Religious Dialogue, said the shared observance invites believers to prayer, repentance, and concrete action for peace, justice, and care for the environment.

He stressed that faith should move beyond ritual and transform both personal life and social responsibility.

Bagaforo explained that fasting, generosity, and compassion for the poor lie at the heart of both sacred seasons, reminding believers that love of God must translate into care for neighbors, especially the marginalized and forgotten.

He also warned that environmental destruction threatens peace itself, noting that harm to forests, water, and land reflects broken relationships among people and with nature.

He said stewardship of the environment remains a shared moral duty for Christians and Muslims alike.

He urged interreligious groups and civil society to work together, emphasizing that peace cannot be achieved through fear or force but through trust, justice, dialogue, and shared responsibility.(MyTVCebu)