“Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, an outspoken critic of the Sri Lankan government’s apparent failure to act on Indian government intelligence ahead of the Easter attacks, has demanded more security during church services in the aftermath of the violence.”
The Order hopes that the Sri Lankan government will heed this call for additional security, and provide protection for all of Sri Lanka’s Christians. The failure of authorities to act decisively in the wake of attacks such as the Sri Lanka bombings only encourages more persecution of Christians.
“Sir [sic] Lankan Christians still too afraid to go to church,” by Citra Abbott and Matthias Böhnke, Catholic Herald, June 17, 2019:
‘Everyone knows that somewhere out there extremely dangerous people are running around who could attack again at any time’
Many Christians in Sri Lanka are still too scared to go to church – in spite of security put in place following the Easter Day bombings.
Returning from a fact-finding and project-assessment trip to the country, Veronique Vogel, head of Sri Lanka projects for the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, said: “Many told me that they are afraid to enter a church or feel fear when they hear bells ringing.”
She described a sense of tension in the capital, Colombo, and elsewhere across Sri Lanka, where more than 250 people were killed and 300 injured on 21 April 2019 in attacks targeting churches and leading hotels.
Ms Vogel said: “The security measures throughout Sri Lanka were very strict during our visit. Security forces and the military were everywhere.
“But fear persists, particularly among the Christian population.
“Everyone knows that somewhere out there extremely dangerous people are running around who could attack again at any time.”
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, an outspoken critic of the Sri Lankan government’s apparent failure to act on Indian government intelligence ahead of the Easter attacks, has demanded more security during church services in the aftermath of the violence….
