End of Ramadan Observed by Catholics Heeding Pope

Mary Fingal Erickson got up before dawn Friday, sat down at her breakfast table and ate a large leftover Chinese chicken salad. It would be the only food she would eat until sundown, mirroring the Islamic tradition of a daytime fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

“I kept peeking out the window to make sure the sun wasn’t up yet,” she said.

But far from being an observant Muslim, Erickson, an Orange County Superior Court judge, is Catholic.

Pope John Paul II had asked Catholics worldwide to fast Friday alongside Muslims as a sign of unity during the final days of Ramadan, which ends Sunday.

Church officials believe the papal request symbolically links the two religions, if only for a day.

“I have no recollection of a time in our history where we’ve been asked to fast for our Islamic brothers and sisters,” said Tod D. Brown, bishop of Orange who heads the church’s interreligious movement in the United States. “It’s very, very symbolic and very, very powerful.”

Although widely publicized in Catholic publications and from the pulpit, observance of the fast among the faithful in Southern California appeared spotty, with some abstaining from food and others merely cutting back.

At a Nov. 18 public prayer service at the Vatican, the pope urged Catholics to fast and “pray fervently to God to grant to the world stable peace based on justice, and make it possible to find adequate solutions to the many conflicts that trouble the world.” He also encouraged people to give the money they had saved by not eating to those “who at present suffer the consequences of terrorism and war.”

“I was very pleased and surprised,” said Dr. John Borelli, interim director of the Catholic Church’s national ecumenical and interreligious affairs council. “ . . . The act of us standing together now is a sign that’s really needed.”

The pope’s gesture was hailed by American Muslim leaders, especially in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“In these tough times, it’s certainly touching and it indicates a strengthening and increasing bond of brotherhood between the two followers of these two major religions,” said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Southern California chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations. “If we can show these religions as a source of peace, then we’ve certainly taken a great step.”

The pope’s words about bringing people of both faiths together “to proclaim to the world that religion must never be a reason for conflict, hatred and violence” were used Friday by Muzammil Siddiqi, a former president of the Islamic Society of North America, at a Garden Grove mosque.

“We appreciate the support from the pope very much,” Siddiqi said. “It gives us all a sense of peace and harmony.”

For the Catholic faithful who took part, some followed the tenets of the Muslim fast, which include no food or water from sunrise to sundown. Others sipped water and juice throughout the day. And some followed the standard Catholic fast of one large meal and, if needed, two small snacks.

“People are doing it all sorts of ways,” said Steven J. Dzida, an Irvine attorney who learned of the fast through e-mails circulating around the Internet. “It’s the thought that counts though, just as with anything else.”

Catholics and other faith traditions have long used fasting as a form of penance and as a way to deepen prayer experience.

“We know that prayer acquires power if it is joined with fasting and almsgiving,” the pope said. “The Old Testament taught this, and from the earliest centuries Christians have accepted and applied this lesson, especially at the times of Advent and Lent.”

The call to fast comes during the Christian Advent season, the four weeks that prepare the faithful for the birth of Jesus.

Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana served lunch, but many students and faculty were at least cutting back Friday.

Lauren Thompson, 17, a junior, had a light breakfast and had planned to make dinner her big meal of the day, but “My mom made such a big lunch, I had to eat it.

“At lunchtime, kids were asking, ‘Are you fasting today?’ and saying, ‘Don’t forget, you can’t snack between meals,’ ” but Thompson did not notice any strict observance.

Raquel Ferrer, 17, a senior, is not Catholic, but decided to “eat in moderation.” Besides, she said, “prayer is the most essential part of it.”

Sue Harrison, director of development at the school, admitted to sneaking a cookie, but had otherwise not yet eaten.

“I couldn’t say it’s something I thought a lot about today,” Harrison said, adding that she chose to fast primarily because “I’m here at Mater Dei, a faith environment.”

Outside the Catholic Church, other Christians also have embraced a fast during Ramadan this year. Leaders with the National Council of Churches and liberal evangelical leader Jim Wallis are among those who invited Christians to participate in a fast during the seasons of Advent and Ramadan.

National Council of Churches General Secretary Robert W. Edgar said he has been fasting one day a week “in solidarity with Muslims and to rediscover my own Christian fasting traditions.” At All Saints Church, a progressive Episcopalian congregation in Pasadena, 18 members signed a pledge for fasting and prayer during Ramadan “as an expression of solidarity with Muslims.” Rector Ed Bacon said he led the initiative after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks propelled him to reach out to Muslims.

“I’m convinced in order to understand a religion you need to experience some of the practices,” he said.

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Times staff writer Stanley Allison contributed to this report.