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| [26.04.2008 - Fr. Sunil De Silva - 18.40 p.m.] |
[ Photo - Defence Ministry - 26.04.2008 ] |
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| According to the news announced by the Government, that the LTTE had left the Madhu Shrine premises and the Sri Lanka Army has entered the Shrine premies. |
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The Vicar General of the Diocese of Mannar, Very Rev. Fr. Victor Soosai, was sent in the morning to the Madhu Shrine by the Bishop of Mannar for inspection of the Shrine. He was accompanied by the Vanni Sri Lanka Army Commander. |
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His Lordship Bishop Rayappu Joseph, said that Fr. Victor Soosai the Vicar General having reached the Madhu Shrine, knelt down to pray and then he had inspected the Shrine, Presbytery and side chapels of the Shrine. According to the information received from the Vicar General, His Lordship Bishop Rayappu said, " that the side chapel of the Shrine has been damaged due to shelling, 2 sheets of the main Shrine has been swung away from the roof and minor damages to the Mission House area.Besides there are no damages to main Shrine as such."
Much awaited news was whether the LTTE had truly left the Shrine premises. The Vicar General Fr. Victor Soosai confirmed that the LTTE has left the Shrine premises, but the Sri Lanka Army is still at the Shrine.
After having to come to know the situation of Madhu Shrine, Bishop Rayappu said in the evening today, " Sri Lanka Army also muct leave the Shrine premises." |
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Very Rev. Fr. Victor Soosai |
| " Both the groups must give the assurance that they would not enter the Madhu Shrine or the premises, and there by create a situation to shift the statue for a safer place.". |
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Due to heavy exchange of artillery around the Madhu Shrine, His Lordship Bishop Rayappu Joseph gave the instructions to the Administrator of the Madhu Shrine Very Rev. Fr. Emiliaspillai to take the Statue of Our Lady of Madhu to a safer location. |
| Then the Statue of Madhu was taken to Theavanpiddi Church on 03rd April 2008. |
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When asked from His Lordship with regard to the appeal of the government to bring the Statue back to Shrine, His Lordship said, " to bring the Madhu Statue to the Shrine , both the groups LTTE and the Sri Lanka Army must give the assurance that they will not enter the Shrine premises and create a war situation. I have to wait and see how the situation around the Shrine area will be safe to bring the statue. ". |
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Bishop Rayappu went on to say, " before we bring the Statue according to the traditions of the Church, Penitential Services will be held with the people, praying and repenting to ask for God's forgiveness for the desecration of the Church by those involved in fighting at the Shrine premises, thereby causing damages. We also had to take the Blessed Sacrament. We will follow those Church traditions with prayers and penance before we bring the Statue to the Sacred Shrine." |
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Bishop Rayappu further said, " We are still waiting for His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksha to declare the Shrine area as " a ZONE OF PEACE " which has not been done yet." |
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| [26.04.2008 - Fr. Sunil De Silva - 13.10 p.m.] |
According to the news announced by the Government, that the LTTE had left the Madhu Shrine premises and the Sri Lanka Army has entered the Shrine premies. |
When His Lordship Bishop Rayappu Joseph, the Bishop of Mannar was contacted last evening, he said that, " the Sri Lanka Army informed me that they have entered the Madhu Shrine premises. Since I'm unable to visit the Shrine now due to heavy fighting around the area, I'm unable to to tell the situation at the Shrine ". |
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The Secretary to the Bishop of Mannar, Rev. Fr. Suresh said in the afternoon, that the Vanni Sri Lanka Army Commander visited the Bishop House and requested a priest to visit the Shrine along with him. Facilities were made available only for one priests to visit the Shrine and the Vicar General Very Rev. Fr. Victor Soosai had gone to the Madhu Shrine in the monring today. |
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| We have to wait until he returns from the Shirne to know the exact situation at the Madhu Shrine. |
Just few days ago the Catholic Bishops' Conference in Sri Lanka issuing a Statement appealed to LTTE and the Sri Lanka Army to keep away from the hallowed Madhu Shrine which under the administration of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Mannar. |
The Catholics in Sri Lanka will totally reject the hidden agendas of anyone to make use of the much loved and sacred Madhu Shrine for any political advantages or for any other purposes. Thousands of Catholics visit the Shrine every year to seek the spiritual consolation from Our Lady of Madhu and spend days in prayer and fasting. On going civil war between the Sri Lanka Army and the LTTE has prevented lakhs of Catholics visiting the Shrine for Prayers & Retreats. |
| [22.04.2008 - Fr. Sunil De Silva ] |
| [ Fr. Sunil De Silva - 09.04.2008 ] |
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Side Chapel of the Madhu Shrine, the Confessional Chapel, has been destroyed in the ongoing fights between the government troops and the LTTE. According to the information received from Rev. Fr. Suresh, Secretary to the Bishop of Mannar that the roof of the side chapel has been destroyed and the Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus also has been damaged in the shelling.
All the Catholics in Sri Lanka and abroad have been praying for the safety of the Madhu Shrine and for peace in Sri Lanka.
At the meantime, Catholic Bishops have gathered in the Conference in Kandy to discuss the about ongoing situation in the country. |
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[ Photos by courtesy of Puthinan ] |
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| [ Fr. Sunil De Silva - 04.04.2008 ] |
Due to heavy exchange of artillery around the Madhu Shrine, His Lordship Bishop Rayappu Joseph had given the instructions to the Administrator of the Madhu Shrine Very Rev. Fr. Emiliaspillai to take the Statue of Our Lady of Madhu to a safer location. Yesterday the Administrator and Rev. Fr. Assistant Administrator E. Sebamalai, Parish Priest of Vangkaalai Rev. Fr. Antony Gnanapragasam, Vavuniya Komarasangku'lam Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Antony Sagayam have moved out of the Madhu Shrine and taken the Statue to Theavanpiddi Church, at the border of the Mannar Diocese. |
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With this news reaching the Catholics in Sri Lanka have been tears and are praying to Our Lady of Madhu very intensly to protect the Shrine as well as bring peace to Our Motherland. |
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His Lordship Bishop Rayappu Joseph and His Grace the Archbishop Oswald Gomis have appealed to His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksha, the President of Sri Lanka for the safety of the Madhu Shrine. |
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| [ Fr. Sunil De Silva - 02.04.2008 ] |
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His Lordship Bishop Rayappu Joseph, Bishop of Mannar led the Prayer Service held at St.Sebastian's Cathedral, Mannar for the safety of the Madhu Shrine. Priests of the Mannar Diocese, Religious, a number of Religious Provincials from South and a large number of people participated in the prayer service, which started with the recitation of the Holy Rosary both in Tamil and in Sinhala.
His Lordship Bishop Rayappu Joseph addressing the gathering said that " lakhs of Catholics from every region of Sri Lanka have been gathering at the feet of Our Lady of Madhu, seeking consolation, mediation for human struggles in life and have been always praying to Our Lady of Madhu for peace in Sri Lanka. Madhu Shrine has been not only a place of worship but also a place for refuge for thousands of people who had no where to go during the war." His Lordship also said that he has appealed several times to all concerned both the government and the LTTE for the safety of the Shrine and hope they would respond positively.
After the prayer service held in the Cathedral all joined together with His Lordship walked silently through the streets in the town of Mannar, holding placards and posters appealing for the safety of the Shrine.
When they reached the statue of Our Lady of Madhu at the town, prayed the Rosary once again.Shops in the Mannar remained closed for the peaceful march.
His Lordship Bishop Rayappu and the Priests reached the office of Mannar District Secretary - the Government Agent Mr. Nicolas Pillai and handed over him Press Release of Bishop Rayappu for the safety of the Shrine.
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The Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu is a much respected and venerated shrine to Catholics all over Sri Lanka. For more than 400 years, Catholics and as well as non Catholics have gathered around Our Lady of Madhu as a unique Shrine that has served the spiritual needs of Sri Lankans from different walks of life, different ethnicities, different religions and different areas of the country. For more than two decades, in the midst of the conflict and mass displacement, Madhu Shrine also served as aplace of refuge for all affected people. Madhu Shrine has been recognized locally and internationally as a "safe haven" and a "placeof refuge" for people fleeing in the face of war and destruction.
The Church administration has always maintained the Shrine and the area around purely as a place of religious worship and a place of refuge for displaced people. It was strictly kept out of bounds for any type military or political activity. In the last few weeks, we have been extremely concerned that this sacred Shrine and its functions as a centre of spiritual and humanitarian service has come under severe threat due to the escalation of the ongoing military conflict. Shells are falling within the Church premises several times and many of those staying there have been compelled to leave, while priests and the other church workers who are still remaining, live in fear and are being forced to seek shelter in bunkers.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka, the Bishop and the priests of the Diocese of Mannar have been appealing to the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Army to refrain from using the area gazetted as the "Madhu Church" reservation under the "Pilgrimage Ordinance" in 1982 for military and political purposes and to respect its sacred and humanitarian nature. Appeals have been made to the President of Sri Lanka to declare the Madhu Shrine as a "Zone of Peace" through a special gazette notification, in order to ensure that the Shrine can continue to serve as a religious and humanitarian space.
Today, as military operations are taking place very close to the Shrine, we are compelled to make an urgent appeal to both the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to respect the Madhu Shrine and the area mentioned above as a Zone of Peace, keep away from the Shrine area and to ensure that this area remains completely and solely under the administration of the Church. At this crucially difficult juncture, we appeal to all Catholics, all Sri Lankans, particularly those who have a deep sense of belonging and devotion to Our Lady of Madhu, as well as all religious leaders and the international community to join in our efforts to safeguard the sacred and humanitarian character of this very special place of worship.
For this intention, we will hold a special prayer service in Mannar, tomorrow, 2nd April 2008, starting from 9.30am at the St. Sebastian's Cathedral. We invite all our Catholics and people of goodwill lo join in our cry addressed to both the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to completely desist from using the Madhu Shrine for their military and political purposes. We also invite all faithful and devotees to commit themselves to fast and pray on Fridays and pray the Rosary every Saturday for this purpose and for peace in our dear land.
May Our Lady of Madhu, the Dear Mother of the people of this land, bless our country, with peace through politically negotiated settlement. |
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+ Most Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph
Bishop of Mannar |
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| [ signed on 01.04.2008 ] |
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Bishop Rayappu Joseph and the Priests walking across the Mannar streets |
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People silent walked holding posters for the safety of Madhu Shrine |
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His Lordship Bishop Rayappu Joseph handed over an appeal to the Government Agent in Mannar |
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