Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Colombo (Agenzia Fides) - A war torn land where fear and insecurity reign, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people suffer and whole generations of children are denied education and hope for the future. This was the painful situation which presented itself, especially in the north and east of Sri Lanka, to Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, Secretary of the Vatican's Congregation Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments who arrived in his native country to make a pastoral visit, especially in the central area of Marian. Madhu is the country's most loved Marian Shrine a place of pilgrimage for Christians and citizens of other religions and for many years an oasis of peace amidst the fury of civil war between Tamil rebels and the regular army.
In Madhu Archbishop Ranjith entrusted the people of Sri Lanka to the loving care of the people of Sri Lanka, suffering from decades of civil war with alternate times of fighting and treaty, but still no conclusion. War continues to devastate the country prevent all human, economic and cultural development.
Archbishop Ranjith was accompanied by Bishop Rayappu Joseph of the diocese of Mannar and director of Caritas Sri Lanka Fr Damien Fernando. The Catholic delegation had talks with the leader of the Tamil Tigers political wing S.P. Thamilselvan, mainly to discuss the painful situation of the families displaced by the fighting and forced to live in camps and rely on humanitarian aid for survival. Archbishop Ranjith launched a pressing call for peace, urging both sides to leave the path of violence which is the cause of so much suffering for the people and to resume immediately the path of negotiation, starting from basis reached with the cease fire agreement in 2002.
Archbishop Ranjith also went to Colombo, where, during a meeting with Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapakse he discussed the difficult situation in the north and east of the country and stressed the necessity to resume peace talks with the Tamil rebels. The Catholic Church on the island, always in front line to promote reconciliation and peace, hopes for an injection of new life blood to the peace process which has been stalled for so long. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 21/9/2007 righe 26 parole 264)
