Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka President forms five-member committee to probe Easter Sunday bombings
The Hindu

The committee would comprise two appeal court judges, two retired high court judges and a retired administrator -- Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed a five-member committee to investigate allegations of intelligence inputs being ignored and related errors that led to the Easter Sunday bombings, killing over 258 people. According to an extraordinary gazette notification on Saturday, the committee would comprise two appeal court judges, two retired high court judges and a retired administrator. (...) 

(fr) Attentats de Pâques: le Sri Lanka ordonne une nouvelle enquête  (AFP - L'Obs)

Sri Lanka

Gobierno de Sri Lanka finalmente acepta propuesta de investigación independiente sobre atentados de Pascua

Gaudium Press

El llamado del Cardenal Malcolm Ranjith, Arzobispo de Colombo, Sri Lanka, fue finalmente escuchado por las autoridades de Sri Lanka: El Primer Ministro del país, Ranil Wickremesinghe, anunció el pasado 06 de septiembre que una comisión independiente será designada para investigar los atentados anticristianos ocurridos durante la Pascua de 2019. El llamado por una investigación independiente fue una exigencia reiterada del Arzobispo, quien exigió que las investigaciones sobre los graves crímenes fueran realizadas con transparencia e imparcialidad. (...)

Italia
Cristiani perseguitati. Card. Bassetti: “La strumentalizzazione delle religioni può provocare danni incalcolabili”
SIR

(Riccardo Benotti) "I cristiani sono perseguitati per il nome di Cristo. Nella lettera a Diogneto, si legge che sono portatori di principi e di una spiritualità che cozza con la mentalità del mondo. Tutte le confessioni cristiane. Quando ti uccidono non ti domandano se sei cattolico o ortodosso. Anche per i cristiani uccisi in Sri Lanka il giorno di Pasqua si può parlare di vera martiria". Intervista con il card. Gualtiero Bassetti, presidente della Cei (...)

Sri Lanka
Anglican head mourns Sri Lankan terror victims
UCANews

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the Anglican Church, has mourned victims of the Easter Sunday suicide bombings on a visit to Sri Lanka.He called for unity in Sri Lanka as he started a three-day solidarity visit that included a trip to St. Sebastian's Church, where he met families of victims of the attacks on Aug. 29. (...) 

Archbishop’s visit is blessing for Sri Lanka - President  (dailynews.lk)

Regno Unito

Anglican Church head says religions must own up to extremism
Ap - The Washington Post

(Krishan Francis) The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said all religions and their leaders must own up to extremist activities within their faith and examine which of their traditional teachings enable extremists to commit evil. Rev. Justin Welby, the figurehead of the worldwide Anglican Church, told interfaith leaders in Sri Lanka that accepting responsibility is key rather than disavowing an evildoer as not a good enough follower of a religion.Welby arrived in Sri Lanka on Thursday and first visited St. Sebastian’s Church near the town of Negombo and paid homage to those killed in the Easter suicide bomb attacks blamed on Muslim extremists.

Sri Lanka
Archbishop talks about Christian unity in Sri Lanka
PA - Premier

The Archbishop of Canterbury has emphasised the need for Christian unity as he paid tribute to the victims of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks at a Roman Catholic church in Sri Lanka. The Most Rev Justin Welby visited St Sebastian's Church in the seaside town of Negombo just after arriving for a three-day visit to the country. More than 100 people died in the attack on the church in Negombo, which is known as The Little Rome due to its dense Catholic population. A total of 263 people were killed when seven suicide bombers from a local Muslim group attacked three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, (...)

Sri Lanka
Archbishop of Canterbury calls for unity in Sri Lanka
AP - Washington Post

The Archbishop of Canterbury has emphasized the need for Christian unity as he paid tribute to the victims of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks at a Roman Catholic church in Sri Lanka. The figurehead of the Church of England, Justin Welby on Thursday visited St. Sebastian’s Church in the seaside town of Negombo soon after he arrived on a three-day visit to Sri Lanka. (...)

Sri Lanka
Le primat de l’Église anglicane se rend au Sri Lanka
La Croix

(Claire Lesegretain avec Colombo Gazette) Le révérend Justin Welby et son épouse doivent se rendre au Sri Lanka du 29 au 31 août, notamment pour soutenir les chrétiens sri-lankais toujours meurtris après les attentats du dimanche de Pâques, qui ont fait 258 morts et près de 500 blessés. Alors que dimanche 21 juillet, le cardinal catholique sri-lankais Malcolm Ranjith, archevêque de Colombo, réclamait la démission du gouvernement de son pays, l’accusant de ne pas se mobiliser suffisamment pour retrouver les commanditaires des attentats de Pâques – attentats ayant ciblé deux églises catholiques (...)

Sri Lanka
Basilica di Nostra Signora di Lanka a Tewatte: benedizione dei malati e del Paese
AsiaNews

(Melani Manel Perera) Per la Giornata del malato, pellegrini da ogni parte dello Sri Lanka. I partecipanti: “Riceviamo benedizioni nel fisico e nello spirito”. La benedizione degli infermi presieduta dal card. Gualtiero Bassetti, che ha visitato le chiese cristiane distrutte a Pasqua. (...)

Sri Lanka
World Anglican Church head here Thursday
Daily News

(Ishara Mudugamuwa) The Archbishop of Canterbury Most Revd. Justin Welby, the spiritual head of the Anglican Church, will arrive in Sri Lanka on Thursday (29) on a three-day visit as a mark of solidarity with Sri Lanka. Addressing the media yesterday at the Bishop’s Office, the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Ceylon (Anglican) and Bishop of the Diocese of Colombo Rt. Revd. Dhiloraj Ranjith Canagasabey said that that during his visit to Sri Lanka, the Archbishop of Canterbury is expected to convey solidarity with Sri Lanka in the wake of the Easter Sunday bombings in April. (...)

Sri Lanka
The National Basilica: A union of faith and perseverance
Sunday Observer

(Dishan Joseph) The Annual Sick Day at Tewatte Basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Sri Lanka will be held today at 1 pm, with Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, as the presiding prelate. The President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti will also participate in the ceremony with other religious dignitaries representing dioceses from across the country. Administrator of the Basilica, Rev. Fr. Victor Jayamanne said the devotees will not be permitted to put up temporary shelters this year as they used to do in the past, on account of the prevailing security situation. (...)

Sri Lanka
Attentats de Pâques: fin de l'état d'urgence au Sri Lanka
swissinfo.ch

Le Sri Lanka a mis fin à l'état d'urgence proclamé après les attentats djihadistes de Pâques, a indiqué vendredi la présidence. Les attaques avaient fait 258 morts et près de 500 blessés. Ces attaques particulièrement sanglantes s'étaient déroulées le 21 avril dans trois hôtels de luxe de la capitale srilankaise Colombo et trois églises du pays. Le président Maithripala Sirisena avait jusqu'ici prolongé tous les 22 du mois l'état d'urgence, qui permet d'élargir les pouvoirs de la police et des forces de sécurité pour l'arrestation et la détention de suspects. (...)

Sri Lanka
Vescovi dello Sri Lanka: Serve un’indagine indipendente sulle stragi di Pasqua
AsiaNews

Sottolineate le inefficienze del governo. “Sembra che le autorità vogliano solo individuare le falle nel sistema di sicurezza”. I vescovi ribadiscono che lo scopo principale deve essere l’individuazione di autori, fiancheggiatori e complici. Con un appello potente a fare giustizia e a stabilire la verità su quanto accaduto, la Conferenza episcopale dello Sri Lanka (...)

Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cardinal calls probes into Easter attack ‘biased’
Crux

(Elise Harris) Sri Lanka’s top Catholic has called for an independent inquiry into a series of bombings that shook the country on Easter Sunday, saying investigations conducted until now have been swayed by political interests. In comments to Crux, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, said that for Sri Lankans, a parliamentary probe into the attacks “is biased because it is done by parliamentarians of different political parties, they are not independent of their positions.” (...)

Sri Lanka
Catholic Bishops' Conference urge for impartial inquiry into Easter Sunday attacks
sundaytimes.sl

The Catholic Bishops' Conference, in a statement issued yesterday (Aug 12), has urged the government for an independent, just and impartial inquiry into the Easter Sunday attacks.The statement pointed out that the perpetrators of the tragedy and those who had abetted the same must be brought before the law as the final outcome of the committees which are probing the attacks. Catholic Archbishop His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and other Bishops had signed the statement.The religious leaders pointed out that the public are yet to see the outcome of the Presidential Commission which had been appointed to probe the terrorist attacks.  (...)

Sri Lanka
After the Easter massacre, Sri Lanka nun heals religious tension
Al Jazeera

(Adam Bemma) Katuwapitiya, a grief-stricken Sri Lankan village of 600 families, is in the coastal city of Negombo, about 30 kilometres north of Colombo. On April 21, 149 Katuwapitiya residents died inside its St Sebastian's Church, according to a recent count by community members, during the Easter Sunday massacre, claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) group.  (...)

Sri Lanka
Stragi di Pasqua, card. Ranjith: ‘La verità, prima delle elezioni presidenziali’
AsiaNews

(Melani Manel Perera) “Se i candidati non vorranno impegnarsi per la giustizia, allora non vengano ad incontrarmi”. Lo scorso 21 aprile, le esplosioni hanno ucciso 263 persone, ma le autorità non hanno individuato alcun responsabile. L’arcivescovo di Colombo chiede una commissione d’inchiesta indipendente ed imparziale.(...)

Sri Lanka
Archbishop refuses to meet any Presidential candidate
Colombo Gazette

The Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has refused to meet any Presidential candidate until the investigation reports related to the Easter Sunday attacks are handed over. The Archbishop had announced his stand at a media conference held today. He said that there is a clear attempt to hide the truth as all those responsible have not yet been brought to book. “We do not want the Government or politicians to be using this incident to try and score points but to unite and take appropriate action. That is what we expect,” (...)

Sri Lanka
Card. Ranjith alla comunità islamica internazionale: Sconfiggete il terrorismo
AsiaNews

(Melani Manel Perera) L’arcivescovo di Colombo ha riconsacrato la chiesa di San Sebastiano nel giorno in cui si celebrava il terzo mese dalle stragi di Pasqua. Svelato il monumento in ricordo delle 263 vittime. “Anche i musulmani che vivono nei Paesi islamici soffrono”. Il Vaticano ha donato 85mila dollari per le vittime. (...)

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka President hits back at Cardinal Malcolm
EconomyNext

President Maithripala Sirisena lambasted Cardinal Malcom Ranjith over his call for the government to step down for allegedly failing to ensure an effective investigation. Sirisena said the cardinal had used the third anniversary of the Easter Sunday bombings to launch a politically motivated attacks against him as well as the authorities investigating the attack. (...)