ASIA/SRI LANKA - PMS Director in Sri Lanka: "The faithful killed are blessed by God. They are martyrs for our Church"

Friday, 26 April 2019 terrorism   persecutions  

Colombo (Agenzia Fides) - "It is truly sad and heartbreaking to have seen the devastation on a Holy Day like Easter Sunday 2019: it is our black Sunday. The Catholic faithful participated in the Holy Eucharist in the churches and were caught off guard: before they could realize what was happening, their life was already in the hands of the Lord. They died in the church, they are all blessed by God and rightly called martyrs of the Catholic Church. The doors of Heaven are open to them. We must pray incessantly for the speedy recovery of the other victims who are now being treated in the hospitals of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa". This was reported to Agenzia Fides by Fr. Basil Rohan Fernando, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Sri Lanka, a few days after the attacks that devastated the nation on Easter day.
In the testimony sent to Fides, the Director of the PMS continues: "I visited the places where the attacks were carried out, the hospitals where the wounded are treated and it was so sad to talk with them, a dramatic moment, both for me and for them.
Many of the wounded who miraculously escaped death lie in hospital beds, not knowing that some of their family members have lost their lives. Those who can talk want to know what happened to the other family members who accompanied them to church. Some are certainly dead but how can one communicate the news to the survivors? Unfortunately, some bodies have not been identified. Parts of human remains are scattered in the area of the attack and at the moment it is not possible to know who they belong to".
Father Feranndo mentions, in particular "five members of a family, father, mother and three children aged between 4 and 6, and a child of only 11 months, who were all killed on the spot".
"The Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, participated in the special funeral service in Negombo together with his Auxiliary Bishops. Many priests and nuns also participated. I was also present and what I experienced is something I would not have never wanted to see in my life, something so sad that there are no words to describe it", says Fr. Fernando.
The Director of the PMS concludes: "There are some houses near the church that remained closed on Easter Sunday. It is believed that the families who lived there died in the attacks and are still missing. They are probably among the bodies that cannot be identified. Entire families were exterminated; some family members escaped death while others remained victims. The situation in these areas is so serious and l beyond acceptance. We ask the Christian faithful of the whole world to pray without end for our country, for Catholics and the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka". (Agenzia Fides, 26/4/2019)



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