Vatican City - The credibility of Christianity and Islam are at risk if believers do not make a stand against terrorism, a top Vatican cardinal said on Friday.
In a greeting to Muslims at the end of their annual Ramadan fast, the Vatican's head of inter-religious dialogue said the world needed "Christians and Muslims who respect and value each other".
The Vatican greets Muslims at the end of every Ramadan, but this year's message comes at a particularly sensitive time for relations between the two religions after Pope Benedict made a speech last month which offended many in the Islamic world.
Cardinal Paul Poupard said the two religions, which "give great importance to love, compassion and solidarity", had to fight the "particularly painful scourge" of violence and terrorism.
"Without doubt, the credibility of religions and also the credibility of our religious leaders and all believers is at stake," his message said.
"If we do not play our part as believers, many will question the usefulness of religion and the integrity of all men and women who bow down before God."
Abdellah Redouane, head of the Italian Islamic Cultural Centre, said he was grateful for the Vatican's message.
"On first reading there's obviously an invitation to dialogue but also a whole programme of themes that we can work on together," Redouane told Reuters.
Poupard presented the text at a news conference -- the first time the Vatican has made such an effort to highlight its annual goodwill message. He said his office drafted the text in August but adapted it after the Pope's controversial speech.
In the speech, at Germany's Regensburg University in September, Benedict quoted 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who said the Prophet Mohammad commanded "to spread by the sword the faith he preached".
The Pope has many times expressed regret for the reaction to the speech and held an extraordinary meeting with Muslim representatives to assure them of his respect.
Poupard said the incident -- which was marked by protests against the Pope in many Muslim countries -- highlighted the need for greater understanding between the two faiths.
"The particular circumstances that we have recently experienced together demonstrate clearly that, however arduous the path of authentic dialogue may be at times, it is more necessary than ever," said the message.