Manila – “This year, the holy month of Ramadan and the Lenten season begin together on February 18. This shared beginning is a grace. It invites us to slow down, to return to God, and to walk together in faith,” says Bishop Colin C. Bagaforo, Bishop of Kidapawan and president of the Philippine Bishops’ Commission for Interreligious Dialogue, in a message addressed to believers of both communities, Christian and Muslim. Both communities are present in the Philippines, a country of 100 million inhabitants, with a predominantly Catholic population , where there is also a Muslim community of almost seven million people, concentrated mainly on the island of Mindanao, in the southern part of the archipelago.
The bishop explained to Fides, illustrating his message: “It can be said that there is a spirit of tolerance between Christians and Muslims in the Philippines. And when episodes of conflict occur, sometimes marked by violence, they tend to be more political in nature or related to land disputes.” The Bishop did not underestimate the challenges, however: “Due to some cultural differences, there is still a narrow mentality that hinders coexistence in certain communities. Sometimes, Christians do not feel comfortable living alongside Muslims, and vice versa. But in the last 20 years, much progress has been made, and both sides have tried to build a harmonious relationship between the two communities.” In his message, the bishop emphasized that during Ramadan and Lent, “Muslims and Christians enter a time of prayer, fasting, repentance, and generosity.” This encourages them to “learn to see each other as brothers and sisters.” “Our sacred texts call us to peace: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ and ‘God invites everyone to the House of Peace’ . In a world marked by violence and division, this moment calls us not only to pray for peace, but to live it and commit ourselves to it. Ramadan and Lent remind us that faith must transform our hearts and shape our actions. Fasting opens our eyes to suffering and increases our compassion. God’s love is manifested in love of neighbor, especially the poor and the forgotten.”
Peace, the bishop reminds us, “is more than the absence of war; it is a just relationship: with God, with others, and with creation.” “We were created to live together, not against one another. This vision of fraternity resonates deeply in both Ramadan and Lent. Peace flourishes where mutual respect is practiced, where dialogue replaces suspicion, and where solidarity becomes a way of life.”
In the Philippines, Bishop Bagaforo recalls, “this spirit of fraternity is lived through Alay Kapwa, a Lenten offering whose name means ‘offering to one’s neighbor.’ It is not simply an act of charity, but a way of seeing the other as ‘kapwa,’ a person who shares our humanity and our future. Through Alay Kapwa, prayer becomes service, and sacrifice is transformed into hope for communities affected by poverty, conflict, disasters, and ecological damage.”
The message quotes the Holy See: “Guided by Leo XIII’s message for the World Day of Peace, ‘Towards a Peace that is unarmed and disarming,’ we are reminded that true peace is not built with weapons or fear. It is built through trust, justice, dialogue, and shared responsibility.” It concludes with a wish: “May this shared experience of Ramadan and Lent become a living prayer, a prayer lived through fraternity and compassion. May God, merciful and compassionate, guide our steps and make us instruments of His peace.”
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