Pope Francis' 7th trip out of Italy took him to Sri Lanka.
Visiting Sri Lanka, Pope Francis urged respect for human rights and the search for truth, in this country which is struggling to heal from civil war.
The pope, who will then travel to the Philippines, is expected to preach reconciliation and unity throughout this trip which comes just after the surprise election of a new president.
In this country still divided between Sinhalese and Tamils, the Church plays a special role since there are Catholics within the two communities.
37 years of war
The pope spoke of reconciliation upon his arrival at Colombo airport in a country marked by the 37 years of conflict between the army and the Tamil separatist rebellion defeated in 2009. “The great work of reconciliation must include improvement infrastructure and provide for material needs but also, and this is even more important, it must promote human dignity, respect for human rights and the full integration of all members of society ” , he added. he declares.
Healing process
Respect for human rights is an extremely sensitive subject in Sri Lanka, as its leaders have refused to cooperate with the UN investigation into allegations of war crimes committed against civilians at the end of the conflict. “The healing process requires including the search for truth,” the Pope stressed. The Pope was greeted by new President Maithripala Sirisena who has just taken office and promised an independent investigation into these accusations of war crimes allegedly perpetrated under the presidency of his predecessor, Mahinda Rajapakse.
Francis prayed for France
“All members of society must work together, all must have a voice. Everyone must be free to express their concerns, their needs, their aspirations and their fears, ” continued the Pope. Appeared in good shape and smiling, the Pope also told French journalists that “he had prayed for France and would pray for her again” after the attacks that killed 17 people last week.
Privileged Asia
In Sri Lanka, a country with 70% Buddhists, 12% Hindus, 10% Muslims and 7% Christians, inter-religious dialogue should be a strong accent of the Pope’s message. During the day he is to meet with Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim leaders in the country. Religious violence has increased in recent years on the island, with radical Buddhist groups attacking churches and mosques to denounce, according to them, the influence of these religious minorities.
A million people expected at mass
On Wednesday, the Pope is due to celebrate a seaside mass in Colombo that could attract a million people.
On this occasion, he will canonize the first saint of Sri Lanka, Joseph Vaz, a missionary who came from India at the end of the 17th century and who, with the help of the Buddhist king, put an end to the persecutions against the Catholics. Highlight of his visit, the Pope will then go to the Marian shrine of Madhu, in the Tamil zone, in a region where the war has been intense.
7th trip
During this seventh trip out of Italy since his election in March 2013, and the second in Asia in six months, Jorge Bergoglio should meet the Asian crowds who had already given him a triumphant welcome in August in South Korea. He will go Thursday to the Philippines, 85% Catholic, where five days of leave have been decreed for the occasion in Manila where huge crowds are expected in his path. In addition to two meetings with families and young people, the highlights will be the mass at Rizal Park in Manila, where John Paul II gathered millions of faithful in 1995, and a trip of almost a day to the disaster area. by Tacloban. In the area devastated in November 2013 by Typhoon Haiyan, he will celebrate mass on land near the
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