Sri Lankan bishop appeals for peace zone near prominent Marian shrine

Published: 2008-04-02

BANGALORE, India (CNS) -- With Sri Lankan forces closing in on the Marian shrine of Madhu in northwestern Sri Lanka, Bishop Rayappu Joseph of Mannar, Sri Lanka, has appealed to government forces and the Tamil rebels to leave the area around the shrine a "zone of peace." "Today as the military operations are taking place very close to the shrine, we are compelled to make an urgent appeal to both the government and the (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) to respect the Madhu shrine and (its) area as a zone of peace," Bishop Joseph said in a written appeal. Tamil rebels had already moved into the church compound, and Sri Lankan soldiers were very close, the bishop said. "The situation is really serious, and the shrine could be razed to the ground unless an immediate cease-fire is declared there," Bishop Joseph told Catholic News Service April 1 following his appeal. Father Emilianuspillai Santhiapillai, the shrine's administrator, told the Asian church news agency UCA News April 1: "The whole of last night, we were awake as heavy fighting continued and shells kept falling close to the church and into the compound. ... This morning again until 11 a.m., we could hear blasts going off." Father Santhiapillai said it had become so unsafe that the four priests, four nuns and 15 domestic helpers staying with him "made small bunkers in the sacristy so we can shelter ourselves when shells fall."

Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .