Easter will harness brotherhood, faith to end national conflict

Easter message by Catholic Bishops conference:

COLOMBO: The light of Truth, and Justice, the genuine spirit of love and service the humane qualities of compassion and loving kindness seems to a great extent eclipsed by the spiritual of violence, hatred and mistrust which keep destroying the avenues for peaceful dialogue and serene judgement.

Therefore essential for national reconciliation, peace and prosperity. That are the deepest aspirations of our people, said the Easter message issued by the Catholic Bishops’ conference in Sri Lanka.

The Easter message signed by Rt. Rev. Dr. Vianny Fernando, Bishop of Kandy and President of CBCSL and Rt. Rev. Dr. Marius Peiris Auxiliary Bishop and Secretary General of the conference said that the spirit of intransigence on the one hand and that of extreme materialism on the other, continue to be serious obstacles to any possible ongoing effort towards the resolving of the national conflict.

Excerpts from the text:

Christians all over the world celebrate the feast of Easter which is the great mystery at the core of our Christian faith. The good news of Easter is that Jesus Christ mankind’s Redeemer is risen from the dead.

While we rejoice in the glory of Easter, we find ourselves still amidst the powers of evil and darkness that engulf our beloved country and its people.

To our shock and dismay, the exact contrary has been proven by the recent fearful incident when the lives of a group of high-ranking diplomats were put in very grave danger.

We are in dire need of a passing over from this sad state of affairs to one of promise and hope. This can be achieved, only through a radical transformation leading to change in attitudes striving to root out the interior rebellion of our hearts and through an honest political will to pursue the peace process along the path of a negotiated political settlement, if a new era is to be ushered in for the country.

Easter impels us to carry forward our search for the paths of victory over evil both personal and collective. It is a call to build up a new way of living.

It is an invitation to enter into its spirit of peace, joy, brotherhood and faith.

The Easter Light of the Risen Lord will empower us in helping one another rise from the depths of misery plaguing us as a country and awaken us to a new land of peace, freedom and prosperity.