The bishop of Mannar has had the venerated image moved because of the
escalation of fighting between the army and Tigers in the area of the
sanctuary. Catholics are asking why he chose an area under the
complete control of the rebels, and hypothesise pressure.
Colombo (AsiaNews) - Many Catholics in Sri Lanka, devoted to the
Virgin Mary, disapprove of the decision of the bishop of Mannar to
move the statue of Our Lady of Madhu to the church of Thevanpitti, at
the northernmost border of the diocese. The decision of Bishop
Rayappu Joseph - carried out last April 4 - is the epilogue of a drama
that for months has been afflicting the local Church and the pilgrims
who, in great numbers and from all the ethnic and religious groups,
come to the famous shrine of Madhu. The area has become the theatre
of escalation of the military confrontation between the army and the
Tamil Tiger rebels. So after many appeals for better security, the
bishop decided to move the venerated image of the Virgin Mary. But
instead of selecting a place under the control of the army, he chose
an area farther into the interior and completely under the control of
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The decision met with
disappointment from the faithful, who are now asking "whether the
bishop trusts more in the rebels, whether the shrine is the property
of the government, of the LTTE, of the diocese, of the Tamils, or is
not simply the heritage of all the pilgrims?".
Interviewed by AsiaNews on the topic, some Catholics in Colombo
expressed their doubts and called upon the bishops' conference to act
in a more decisive manner. "The responsibility for protecting a sacred
place", says one woman at the shrine of Saint Anthony in Colombo,
"belongs to the entire Church, and not only to the bishop of Mannar.
It is the bishops' conference that must open a direct dialogue with
the Tigers and the government, and this is not a political affair".
"We do not understand why bishop Rayappu Joseph took this decision",
say Mr and Mrs Nicholas. "It seems that the bishop acted under
pressure from the rebels, otherwise we are sure that he would have
moved the statue to his house or to a parish in an area already
'cleared' by the government forces". This opinion is also shared by
the commander of the army, General Sarath Fonseka, according to whom
the transfer of the statue is proof that the LTTE "are losing control
of the area of Madhu", and, aware of their imminent defeat, are
exerting pressure on the bishop and the local clergy.
There are also some among the Catholics in Colombo who maintain that
if the bishop has taken this decision in the interest of the
community, "he has acted for the best".
The image of the Virgin Mary at the shrine of Madhu, 220 kilometres
north of Colombo, has been venerated for 400 years. Until just a few
years ago, it was always considered by the warring parties as a "free
zone" and was spared from violence. In recent years the area was also
a refuge for families, both Tamil and Sinhala, fleeing the civil war.
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