Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Colombo (Agenzia Fides) - The Council of Priests of the Catholic archdiocese of Colombo has voiced great alarm for growing crime rate, including killings, abductions, disappearances and other forms of violence. In a press release signed by the Archbishop Oswald Gomis, a copy was sent to Fides, the Council observed that these incidents were taking place in the North, East and most other parts of the island with serious detriment to sacred human life, the peaceful co-existence between the various ethnic communities and the day to day living of the people.
The Council of Priests noted that this did not augur well for the future and clearly indicated a serious breakdown of the law and order situation that could well usher in an era repetitive of the late nineteen eighties Unless this fast deteriorating conditions is checked by strict enforcement of the law without fear or favour, and the guilty be punished irrespective of any consideration of their position or status, the situation is bound to deteriorate further and drive the country into a state of anarchy .
The members of the Council also recorded with deep regret the disappearance of their brother priest Rev. Fr. Thiruchelvam Jim Brown and his missionary companion and expressed their profound disappointment at the lack of any information in this regard.
Fr Brown hails from Jaffna, and the Catholic bishop of that city and all the bishops of Sri Lanka wrote a letter to the president Mahinda Rajapakse (see Fides 21/9/06), calling for more attention and investigation into the case. According to the local press the President promised to set up an independent commission to inquire into the matter with the help of outside experts.
While sharing the grief and anxiety of the Bishop of Jaffna, the clergy and the family members of the disappeared, the Council of Priests urged the President to take quick action to finalise this inquiry and make its finding available to the public The members of the Council reiterated their prayerful union with the members of the Jaffna clergy in their moment of anxiety and grief . (PA) (Agenzia Fides 26/9/2006 righe 26 parole 267)
