Sri Lanka Bishop Urges Warring Factions to Respect Life

(October 18, 2008) Following a suicide bombing in this ancient Buddhist city that claimed 31 lives, the Catholic bishop of Anuradhapura has called on both sides in Sri Lanka's civil war to respect life. During a Mass to mourn the victims, held on Oct. 13 at St. Joseph Cathedral, Oblate Bishop Norbert M. Andradi told 200 mourners of various religions that "valuable lives" are lost in such violence regardless of who is killed. A suspected Tamil rebel suicide bomber blew himself up on Oct. 6 at the opening of an office of the opposition United National Party in Anuradhapura, 200 kilometres north of Colombo. The blast killed 31 people including retired Major General Janaka Perera and his wife, Catholic physician Raja John Pulle and his wife, and Rashmi Mohamed Maharoof, a television journalist covering the event. More than 90 people were wounded. Perera served as party leader in the North Central Provincial Council, but while on active duty in the 1980s he was involved in the war against the Tamil separatists. Bishop Andradi urged the warring factions to respect people's right to life and condemned tragic events occurring in the country despite numerous calls from religious leaders for peace and a negotiated settlement. Given the teachings of the various religions, he said, "We should not allow such incidents to happen." The civil war has claimed the lives of about 70,000 people and displaced about 1 million.