People in North do not want war - Bishop Rayappu Joseph

E. WEERAPPERUMA

MATARA: The people living in the North do not want war. They do not want a division of this country. They want honourable peace. They want a solution to their problems resolved through dialogue and discussions, said Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph, the Bishop of Mannar Diocese addressing those who were present at the centenary celebration of the Shrine of Our Lady of Matara, on Sunday.

He said: “We are not liable for the current war. We do not need war for peace.

We are totally against any form of division of this country. We will not give any room for division of our loving Motherland.

We wish to have a country in which every community and each ethnic group would be able to live with their identity and enjoying an equal right.

Addressing a massive congregation gathered at the feet of the Matara Matha Shrine in the pouring rain, His Lordship said that it was not enough only to be willing people and wishing people for peace but it was necessary to actively involve and work towards peace.

“Let us resolve here in this hallowed grounds to live in peace and harmony, unity and equality in this blessed land of ours as members of one family though we are a multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural people living in different parts of the country.

We must remember that it is not enough to talk of peace about we must be people who make peace, peace makers”.

His Lordship said: “I consider it a privilege to have the opportunity to address you from the South at the Shrine of Our Lady of Matara which celebrates the centenary of the Church dedicated to Virgin Mary, Our Mother. I bring to you the brothers and sisters of the South, the greetings and the best wishes from our people living in the North.

Using this privilege given to me to address you from the South, I like to talk about peace to Sri Lanka Our beautiful motherland. It is most searched after need of the hour in our history.

We should not remain as people wishing for peace we should be a people who work and strive hard to bring about peace.

I invite you to pray for this purpose. I plead with you to direct your prayers in private and your prayers as a family to the Queen of Peace. Before we leave this hallowed shrine let us take a firm decision to commit ourselves to work towards peace”.

Colombo Archbishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Oswald Gomis in his homily during the Holy Mass observed that millions of mothers have drawn themselves into the sin of abortion, killing a living soul within their wombs, and a considerable number of mothers from Sri Lanka were found within that massive group.

His Lordship lamented that mothers have lost that maternal love for their offspring and they have also forgotten that they were committing a mortal sin by their disregard to human life. The message of ‘Matara Matha’ was to move away from the sinful life and a change of heart.

While underlining the importance of peace within His Lordship invited the Catholics to work and pray to achieve peace to Sri Lanka. “Mary, Our Mother, wished to be the Queen of Matara and we must plead with Her that through her intercession to obtain peace to this land and for all communities to live as one family.

The Archbishop citing the tsunami catastrophe and the Southern district as one of the worst affected areas in the country, pointed out that over 45,000 precious lives were lost and observed the loss caused through abortion was much more than the lives lost by the tsunami.

The Festive Concelebrated Holy Mass offered in Thanksgiving to God through Virgin Mary, for the grace bestowed on the Sri Lanka Church and the especially to the Catholic community living in Matara district during the past one hundred years. While the Colombo Archbishop Rt.

Rev. Dr. Oswald Gomis presided, the Member Bishops of the Catholic Bishops Conference Sri Lanka representing Anuradhapura, Badulla, Chilaw, Kandy, Galle, Kurunegala and Mannar along with the Pro Nuncio Archbishop Mario Zenari, Colombo Archbishop Emeritus Nicholas Marcus Fernando and Chilaw Bishop Emeritus Frank Marcus Fernando offered the Sacrifice.

Galle Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Harold Anthony Perera thanked the Government and the President for the help extended and received the stamp and the First Day cover issued at the end of the celebrations.

He also read out the message ending the Jubilee Year, given to him by Administrator of the Shrine Rev. Fr. Charles Hewawasam who received same from the Nilame who brought message in a scroll.