Sri Lanka: Church hopes papal visit will spur work of reconciliation after bloody civil war
January 05, 2015
The Catholic minority in Sri Lanka hopes that a visit by Pope Francis, which will take place January 12-15, will promote reconciliation in a country still scarred by a long civil war.
More than 100,000 people died in the conflict that ended in May 2009. Although a drive for reconciliation was launched after the peace accord, there are questions as to whether the current government, led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, recognizes the importance of that process.
Bishop Joesph Rayappu of Manar told the charitable group Aid to the Church in Need that the regime is strongly influenced by a Buddhist ideology. “Leaving the past behind and wanting to forget is consistent with a certain Buddhist mentality,” the bishop said. “This, of course, makes it difficult” to proceed with the work of reconciliation between the Sinhal and Tamil ethnic groups.
Although Christians account for only 8% of Sri Lanka’s population, the Catholic Church is well situated to serve the cause of reconciliation because the Catholic Church—alone among the country’s religious groups—includes members of all ethnic backgrounds.
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