Few local Catholics attend Easter Mass in tsunami-hit Banda Aceh

Published: 2005-03-31

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (CNS) -- Easter Mass at the only Catholic parish in Indonesia's tsunami-hit Aceh province drew far fewer local Catholics than in years past. Italian Franciscan Father Ferdinando Severi, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Banda Aceh, said 300 Catholics attended the Easter Mass, "but only 70 of them are parishioners," reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. Most others were Indonesians from elsewhere and foreign workers who were still in Banda Aceh following the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean region. Aceh bore the brunt of the disaster, with at least 126,000 dead and tens of thousands more missing.

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