(COLOMBO) – The Sri Lankan Catholic Church on Thursday called for a change of the governing system in the island-nation in order to find solutions to the social, economic and political crisis faced by the country.
“Easter is being celebrated at a time when the country is facing a severe social, political and economical crisis. It is essential to bring in a major change to the country’s governing system to ease the people’s suffering. It is the responsibility of all citizens to work towards bringing this change,” the Sri Lanka Catholic Bishops Conference said in a statement.
“We celebrate Easter at a time when the country is facing a crisis which it had never faced before.
“Easter is the sacred mystery and climax of Christian belief. Let us ask the risen Lord to help us overcome the crisis we are facing at the moment. It has been five years since the Easter Sunday mayhem where more than 275 people were killed and scores became patients. We request the authorities to be close to the hearts of these suffering people and mete out justice to them.
“Easter is the sacred mystery of Christian. We reach climax of this belief when we celebrate Easter. We renew the statement made by first followers of Christ ‘Jesus is alive’ during Easter.
We say Jesus is living among us with great happiness. Jesus defeated death and sin through his resurrection. He is the cornerstone of Easter celebrations. Let us get away from sin and love one another and invite Jesus to live among us,” the statement added.
There has been a festering spat between the Catholic Church and the authorities following the 2019 mayhem.
The Church has repeatedly accused the authorities of failing to probe the Easter Sunday massacre in a more transparent manner hinting that some of the true culprits were being protected under VIP patronage.
