Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith at a special mass to commemorate the victims of the Easter Sunday bombings stated that this is a golden opportunity for Sri Lanka to rise again and unite as a nation. The Sunday mass was organized by the community of Monsignor Neville Joe Perera in Rome on 7th July 2019.
The Archbishop stated, “it is the right time to defeat any religious extremist ideology that destroys another faith or community in the name of God. Let us make a new Sri Lanka that rises steady and strong from the ashes.”
He encouraged the faithful to respect the tremendous diversity existing in man and its social structure while safe guarding and protecting all religions. He further stated, “if any religious philosophy or ideology does encourage killing, it ceases to be a religion any longer”, adding life is so unique that God the creator made sure that even identical twins are not the same.
Bishop of the diocese of Santa Rufina in Rome, Gino Realy and other local and foreign priests and nuns joined the Holy Mass. The presence of the Maha Sanga was significant at the mass. Ambassador Daya Pelpola, Mrs. Pelpola and staff of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Rome also joined the occasion. The gathering rallied round the shrine of the Mother of Divine Revelation at the Church of Laurentina and took part in lighting candles for the Easter Sunday victims.
