Pope Francis urged respect for human rights in Sri Lanka as he began a two-nation Asia tour on the island yesterday, bearing a message of peace and reconciliation after a decades-long civil war.
His visit, days after the surprise election of a new president, is to focus on unity in a country struggling to heal the wounds of a 37-year conflict that pitted troops against Tamil separatist rebels.
The Argentine pope’s second visit to Asia is also to take in the Philippines, a bastion of Christianity in the region, where he is set to attract one of the biggest-ever gatherings for a head of the Catholic Church.
Photo: EPA
In mostly Buddhist Sri Lanka, which has seen a rise in religious violence in recent years, he is to focus on the role of the church in a diverse society.
“The great work of rebuilding must embrace improving infrastructures and meeting material needs, but also, and even more importantly, promoting human dignity, respect for human rights and the full inclusion of each member of society,” the pope said on his arrival.
Human rights are a hugely contentious issue in Sri Lanka, which has alienated the international community by refusing to cooperate with a UN-mandated investigation into alleged wartime mass killing of civilians.
“The process of healing also needs to include the pursuit of truth,” said the pope, who was greeted at Colombo’s main airport by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena.
Sirisena, who took office only days ago, has promised an independent domestic inquiry into the allegations of wartime rights abuses under his predecessor, former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse.
Only about 6 percent of the 20 million population is Catholic, but the religion is seen as a unifying force because it includes people from both the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil ethnic groups.
Sirisena has pledged to protect religious freedoms and promised a new culture of tolerance in the nation, which was devastated by the conflict that ended in May 2009.
“All members of society must work together; all must have a voice,” said the pope, who was greeted by flag-waving well-wishers including a group of Muslim schoolgirls as he stepped off the plane onto the red carpet.
Traditional Sri Lankan dancers and drummers lined the red carpet, and about 50 baby elephants decorated with brightly colored fabrics greeted his arrival.
Earlier, the pope told journalists on the plane he was praying for France following attacks by Muslim militants that left 17 people dead.
Today, which has been declared a national holiday, he is to hold a Mass on the Colombo seafront that is expected to attract about 1 million people.
He is to canonize Sri Lanka’s first saint, a 17th-century missionary, during the open-air service.
He is also scheduled to visit a small church in the jungle that was on the front lines of the ethnic conflict, which killed about 100,000 people.
The Our Lady of Madhu Church in the mainly Tamil north provided sanctuary during the fighting and is now a pilgrimage destination for Christians from across the ethnic divide.
The pope’s trip comes just five months after he visited South Korea, signaling the huge importance the Vatican places on Asia.
The region holds a special interest for Pope Francis, who as a young priest considered becoming a missionary to Japan.
Tomorrow, he is to fly to the Philippines, where anticipation has been building for months, with the pope dominating the media and sparking a merchandise frenzy.
The Philippines is one of the church’s modern success stories, counting roughly 80 percent of the former Spanish colony’s 100 million people as Catholics. This has helped to offset waning influence in Europe and the US. He is to meet survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, which claimed 7,350 lives when it destroyed entire farming and fishing communities in 2013.
The pope is to celebrate mass with tens of thousands of survivors at the airport in Tacloban, one of the worst-hit cities.
Security will be a major issue throughout the pontiff’s Asia trip, although he traveled from Colombo airport in an open-top vehicle, waving to the huge crowds lining the streets to welcome him.
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