said that the facts speak for themselves on Iraq, and that Christians had been better protected under Saddam Hussein. Interfaith relations Each year the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue sends a message, signed by its president, to Hindus for the festival of Diwali, which is celebrated during the month of October. In the 2017 message, Tauran called for the promotion of integral development, protection of human life and respect for the dignity and fundamental rights of the person. The Council sends similar messages each year on the occasion of the feasts of Eid ul-Fitr (Islam) and Vesak (Buddhism). Sharia In a breakfast meeting with journalists, in March, 2008, Tauran said Rowan Williams, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, had been "mistaken and naive" for suggesting that some aspects of Sharia law in Britain were unavoidable. He also lamented the fact that relations with Islam so dominated interreligious dialogue, and that all religions needed to be addressed on equal terms with none assigned second-class status. Notes References Additional sources External links Al Jazeera interview Catholic-Hierarchy Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church 1943 births 2018 deaths Clergy from Bordeaux 20th-century Roman Catholic titular archbishops Diplomats of the Holy See Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 21st-century French cardinals French Roman Catholic titular bishops Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Secretaries for Relations with States of the Holy See Members of the Apostolic Signatura Members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches Members of the Congregation for Bishops Members of the Pontifical Council for Culture Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit (Portugal) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Camerlengos of the Holy Roman Church Neurological disease deaths in Connecticut Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Deaths from Parkinson's disease