brand logo

Pope to meet Lankans in Europe on Easter attacks

07 Mar 2022

 
  • Cardinal also set to take part
  • Meeting set to take place in Vatican City 
  By Buddhika Samaraweera A large meeting will be held soon in Vatican City with the participation of His Holiness Pope Francis, Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, and Sri Lankans living in European countries, where bringing justice to the victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 21 April 2019 will be discussed. Well-placed sources who spoke to The Morning yesterday (6) said that this meeting would not take place during the Archbishop’s ongoing visit to Vatican City, but will probably be scheduled after April and that Sri Lankans of all faiths in Italy and nearby countries are expected to attend the meeting. “During the Cardinal’s recent visit to the Vatican, a group of Sri Lankans there had organised a discussion, but he did not attend. Instead, he plans to meet Sri Lankans with the Pope in the near future. The exact date of the meeting is yet to be determined, but it would most likely be after April,” the sources said. The Colombo Archbishop met with Pope Francis on 28 February at the Vatican, and the Easter Sunday terror attacks and related investigations were discussed during the said meeting. “We have exhausted all options within Sri Lanka to find justice. Now we are discussing all avenues through which we can find justice internationally. Our last remaining solution was to seek assistance from the international community. This is not because we do not love our country. The Archbishop is meeting the Pope after two years and he is especially focusing on informing him that we need help from the international community to seek justice for the victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks,” National Catholic Social Communication Centre Director Rev. Cyril Gamini Fernando said at a press conference held on the same day. Following the meeting with the Pope, Cardinal Ranjith met United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet in Geneva, Switzerland and discussed revealing the truth behind the Easter Sunday terror attacks and bringing justice to the victims on 2 March in an approximately 45-minute discussion. “As we have informed earlier, we have tried all possible options to reveal the truth behind the Easter Sunday terror attacks and failing that, we have gone to the international community to request help from them to reveal the truth. Therefore, as a first step, the Archbishop met with the Pope and told him all about the attacks. He requested him to mediate in order to get the truth revealed. As a second step, the Archbishop met Bachelet and held discussions on revealing the truth behind the terror attacks and bringing justice to the victims,” Colombo Archdiocese Auxiliary Bishop Rev. J.D. Anthony said in a statement issued on 2 March. Claiming that all attempts made by the Catholic church to obtain justice for Easter Sunday terror attacks within the country have failed, Cardinal Ranjith last month said that they were currently exploring the possibilities to reach out to the international community, including the UN, seeking justice for the said terror attacks. Pointing out that they, as the Catholic church, have links all over the world, the Archbishop said that they would also try to influence some pertinent and powerful countries that are in contact with the church. In addition, he said that in case they would be reaching out to the international community, such efforts would also be supported by his fellow cardinals around the world. On 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday, three churches (St. Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade, and Zion Church in Batticaloa) and three luxury hotels in Colombo (Cinnamon Grand Colombo, The Kingsbury Colombo, and Shangri-La Colombo) were targeted in a series of co-ordinated suicide bombings. Later that day, another two bomb explosions took place at a house in Dematagoda and the Tropical Inn Lodge in Dehiwala. A total of 269 people excluding the bombers were killed in the bombings, including about 45 foreign nationals, while at least 500 were injured.  


More News..