Colombo (Fides Service) - Catholic Archbishop Oswald Gomis of Colombo, Sri Lanka, who is also President of the Bishops' Conference, issued a special message for Independence Day, February 4, in which he said, among other things: "During the past several years our National Day was celebrated with reserve…with a sense of frustration and sadness…today a glimmer of hope has dawned in the hearts of the majority on both sides of the divide. Today we hope that the present situation would soon give way to make every citizen in this country feel and live with a sense of dignity in liberty, equality and brotherhood".
The Archbishop said that it would be puerile to think that a permanent peace will fall from the skies, adding that "there is much left to do for all of us". The Archbishop called for unity among the people and among the two major political groupings. "Therefore we once again appeal for consensual politics where all those who have the welfare of the country and the people would work in collaboration to eliminate the unhealthy elements that have even from their own ranks, sneaked into the arena of governance only to attain their selfish objectives". Lastly the Archbishop rallied Catholic to pray for peace. "As a Catholic community let us make this day a special prayer for peace" he said. See the Message from Archbishop Gomis at www.fides.org (Fides Service 7/2/2003 EM lines 18 Words: 255)