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Rt Rev. Dhiloraj Canagasabey, Bishop of Colombo in Sri Lanka, member of the WCC Central Committee. Photo: Peter Williams/WCC

Rt Rev. Dhiloraj Canagasabey, Bishop of Colombo in Sri Lanka, member of the WCC Central Committee. Photo: Peter Williams/WCC

In a 29 April message, the Rt Rev. Dhiloraj Canagasabey, Anglican Bishop of Colombo in Sri Lanka and a member of the World Council of Churches Central Committee, reflected on the Easter Sunday violence in Christian churches in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa and also in some hotels.

“We need to commit ourselves to build bridges of trust and confidence with each other,” wrote Canagasabey. “Out of the debris of this chaotic situation something beautiful, something fragrant, something positive needs to emerge.”

He added that the president and the prime minister have been focused on consolidating their own positions at the expense of neglecting the security of the people of Sri Lanka. “This island nation which bled for almost four decades is bleeding again,” he wrote. “If those who have been elected genuinely loved their country, this should not have been allowed to happen.”

He urged all Anglicans to commence worship once again if they have stopped.

“Let not fear paralyze our faith in God,” he said. “I call on all our fellow citizens and Christians in particular to embrace the Muslim community who have lived in this country for many hundreds of years in peaceful co-existence.”

Read the reflection by Rt Rev. Dhiloraj Canagasabey, Bishop of Colombo