Sri Lanka politician gunned down in Catholic cathedral

-01/01/06

The head of the Roman


Sri Lanka politician gunned down in Catholic cathedral

-01/01/06

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy OíConnor, has been forced to reschedule his visit to Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, following the brutal murder of an opposition politician at Midnight Mass in the townís Catholic cathedral.

Joseph Pararajasingham, aged 71, was gunned down by six men shortly after taking Communion at St Maryís Church. The killing happened in front of Batticaloaís bishop, who was celebrating Mass.

Church sources in Colombo who have spoken to the bishop said he was ìdeeply shockedî and ìupsetî by the killing, the first to occur in a church in Sri Lanka.

Mr Pararajasinghamís wife, who was also shot, is critically ill. Seven others were injured. The gunmen escaped.

Batticaloa is the focus of post-tsunami relief and reconstruction work funded by the London-based aid agency CAFOD (Catholic Fund for Overseas Development), which has organised the Cardinalís visit.

The killing has led to a three-day ìhartalî or stoppage in the town, which is on the east coast of Sri Lanka.

Mr Pararajasingham was a Catholic moderate with the main Tamil nationalist party, known as the ëpolitical wingí of the armed LTTE, or Tamil Tigers. Both the LTTE and the Government blame each other.

The Archbishop of Westminster is being accompanied in Sri Lanka by CAFODís director, Chris Bain.

The Cardinal was very concerned about the killing, which overshadowed his arrival in the Sri Lankan capital at 3am on Boxing Day.

The killing is being seen as more evidence that the peace process is under strain on the island following recent elections which saw national Buddhist parties ñ which oppose a Tamil homeland in the north ñ increase their share of power.

Skirmishes in the north shortly before Christmas left 13 naval personnel dead.

In an interview for Sri Lankan television on 27 December 2005, the Cardinal spoke of his concern at the violence.

He told MTV: ìI know that everyone here wants peace on this lovely island. My prayers at this time will be for the peace process, that it will grow and develop, and that in good time and in as short a time as possible there will be peace, justice and toleration in Sri Lanka.î

The Archbishop of Colombo, Oswald Gomis, also made a statement to MTV television, describing the killing as a ìheinous crimeî.

ìFor us, the destruction of any human life is something horrible and we deplore that type of killing,î he said. ìBut this being committed in a very sacred place on a very sacred day is certainly abominable. So while we condemn this act we appeal, even at this late hour, to all parties concerned, that we have to respect human life, we have to respect the dignity of human beings and we have to respect the rights of people. It is still not too late for us to sit down and work out a negotiated solution to our ethnic problem.î

Hours after arriving in Colombo at 3 am on Boxing Day, the Cardinal took part in a three-hour house handover ceremony south of the capital, in an area deeply affected by the tsunami.

The housing project at Payagala near Kalutara is overseen by Caritas, the international Catholic aid agency, with contributions from CAFOD.

[Also on Ekklesia: Millions mourn tsunami victims one year on; Sri Lankan bishops say peace process must be inclusive; Christians urged to stir up a storm in a tea cup]


Sri Lanka politician gunned down in Catholic cathedral

-01/01/06

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, has been forced to reschedule his visit to Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, following the brutal murder of an opposition politician at Midnight Mass in the town’s Catholic cathedral.

Joseph Pararajasingham, aged 71, was gunned down by six men shortly after taking Communion at St Mary’s Church. The killing happened in front of Batticaloa’s bishop, who was celebrating Mass.

Church sources in Colombo who have spoken to the bishop said he was ‘deeply shocked’ and ‘upset’ by the killing, the first to occur in a church in Sri Lanka.

Mr Pararajasingham’s wife, who was also shot, is critically ill. Seven others were injured. The gunmen escaped.

Batticaloa is the focus of post-tsunami relief and reconstruction work funded by the London-based aid agency CAFOD (Catholic Fund for Overseas Development), which has organised the Cardinal’s visit.

The killing has led to a three-day ‘hartal’ or stoppage in the town, which is on the east coast of Sri Lanka.

Mr Pararajasingham was a Catholic moderate with the main Tamil nationalist party, known as the ëpolitical wing’ of the armed LTTE, or Tamil Tigers. Both the LTTE and the Government blame each other.

The Archbishop of Westminster is being accompanied in Sri Lanka by CAFOD’s director, Chris Bain.

The Cardinal was very concerned about the killing, which overshadowed his arrival in the Sri Lankan capital at 3am on Boxing Day.

The killing is being seen as more evidence that the peace process is under strain on the island following recent elections which saw national Buddhist parties – which oppose a Tamil homeland in the north – increase their share of power.

Skirmishes in the north shortly before Christmas left 13 naval personnel dead.

In an interview for Sri Lankan television on 27 December 2005, the Cardinal spoke of his concern at the violence.

He told MTV: ‘I know that everyone here wants peace on this lovely island. My prayers at this time will be for the peace process, that it will grow and develop, and that in good time and in as short a time as possible there will be peace, justice and toleration in Sri Lanka.’

The Archbishop of Colombo, Oswald Gomis, also made a statement to MTV television, describing the killing as a ‘heinous crime’.

‘For us, the destruction of any human life is something horrible and we deplore that type of killing,’ he said. ‘But this being committed in a very sacred place on a very sacred day is certainly abominable. So while we condemn this act we appeal, even at this late hour, to all parties concerned, that we have to respect human life, we have to respect the dignity of human beings and we have to respect the rights of people. It is still not too late for us to sit down and work out a negotiated solution to our ethnic problem.’

Hours after arriving in Colombo at 3 am on Boxing Day, the Cardinal took part in a three-hour house handover ceremony south of the capital, in an area deeply affected by the tsunami.

The housing project at Payagala near Kalutara is overseen by Caritas, the international Catholic aid agency, with contributions from CAFOD.

[Also on Ekklesia: Millions mourn tsunami victims one year on; Sri Lankan bishops say peace process must be inclusive; Christians urged to stir up a storm in a tea cup]