Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith shuts down Sunday Masses due to church bombings, continued danger

by David Nussman  •  ChurchMilitant.com  •  April 29, 2019    

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith shuts down Sunday Masses due to church bombings, continued danger

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (ChurchMilitant.com) - Sunday Mass in Sri Lanka is suspended indefinitely following the terror attacks on Easter Sunday.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo, ordered that all the country's churches should be closed on Sundays after church bombings in the country left about 300 dead. He claimed he had seen intelligence documents indicating plans for continued attacks on Christians.
According to the Associated Press, many Sri Lankan Catholics watched Mass on television this Sunday. Cardinal Ranjith offered the televised Mass from a chapel at his residence in Colombo.
In his televised homily on Divine Mercy Sunday, the cardinal said, "This is a time our hearts are tested by the great destruction that took place last Sunday."
He added, "This is a time questions such as, 'does God truly love us,' 'does He have compassion toward us,' can arise in human hearts."
Reportedly, Catholic parishes in Sri Lanka are also canceling weekday Masses and other public functions.
A video released April 26 by the Associated Press shows the bombed-out interior of St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo five days after the attack. Saint Anthony's was one of the two Catholic Churches targeted by suicide bombers, alongside St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo. Also targeted were a Pentecostal church and several luxury hotels.

 

Clergy of the Colombo archdiocese were in the pews for Cdl. Ranjith's televised Mass this Sunday. Also present were President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa. Many have criticized government inefficiencies for known terror threats that apparently went ignored.
Also on Sunday, the Sri Lankan government announced a ban on any face coverings. Going into effect Monday, the law will have the side effect of preventing Muslim women from covering their faces with the niqab or the burqa. The niqab is a full-face veil with a slit for the wearer's eyes; the burqa is a full-body covering with mesh over the face.
Sri Lanka is a majority-Buddhist country with notable Christian, Hindu and Muslim minorities.

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