Parishioners light candles at St Thomas’ Cathedral in a show of solidarity over the deadly Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.
KUCHING: Hundreds of parishioners of St Thomas’ Cathedral here lit candles in a sign of solidarity over the deadly church and hotel bombings in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.
Bishop of the Anglican Church in Sarawak and Brunei, the Right Reverend Danald Jute said that in such sad times, the need for peace was stronger than ever.
“We should learn to love each other, faith or no faith, whether we are Christians, Buddhists, Hindus or Muslims – we need to accept our differences and live in peace. We have to learn and find ways to live in peace in all aspects of life so that the world can be a better place.
“Today, we stand together with our Sri Lankan friends, to tell them that we are standing in solidarity with them,” he said when met by reporters.
Condemning the heinous acts, Danald said Easter Sunday was supposed to be a Holy Day filled with peace and goodwill.
“We cannot condone the heinous acts that have been committed. We are deeply saddened indeed because we love peace, and Jesus Christ is a prince that loves peace, but on this Holy Day churches and hotels were bombed.”
At least 290 people, including foreigners, were killed while hundreds were injured in the series of coordinated suicide bombings across Sri Lanka.
It was reported that the first blast took place at the historic St Anthony’s Shrine – a Roman Catholic church in Colombo – at 8.45am local time, followed by a second at St Sebastian’s Catholic Church in Negombo, a majority Catholic town north of the capital.The third deadly blast was at the Protestant Zion Church in the east-coast town of Batticaloa.
Other blasts took place at three high-end hotels – Cinnamon Grand, Shangri-La, and Kingsbury – as well as a guest house and a private house, all located in Colombo.