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Hundreds of Lankans at unity rally in Rome
View(s):By Louis Benedict in Rome
Rome, June 3: Hundreds of Sri Lankans joined tens of thousands of people from about 130 countries for a pentecost unity rally today to mark the golden jubilee of the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service (ICCRS). Presiding at the historic vigil at the Circo Massimo (Greatest Circus), Pope Francis made an impassioned plea for Christian unity in diversity as a first step towards inter-religious unity to achieve the three main goals of world poverty alleviation, win the battle against climate change and promote conflict resolution through dialogue instead of resorting to war or violence.
Pope Francis arrives to preside a Pentecost vigil prayer on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) on June 3 at Circus Maximus in Rome. / AFP PHOTO / Andreas SOLARO
Significantly, hundreds of representatives of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) also attended the ecumenical rally, responding promptly to the invitation because Pope Francis, during the past few years, has been having a regular dialogue with the leaders of the WCC and the WEA.
At the first Pentecost, as described in chapter two of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament, St. Peter spoke to people who understood about ten different languages and followed different cultures. Miraculously, though he spoke in Hebrew, they understood the message in their own language. For today’s Pentecost rally there were people who speak not ten but hundreds of different languages and follow different cultures. Prophetic revelations indicate it would be a new Pentecost for the church and the world, essentially transforming people from self-centredness to other centredness, selfless and sincere values and virtues. On Wednesday May 3, Sri Lankans and other participants had a general audience with Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Square where security was tight and those coming in were body checked while bags were scanned. On Thursday, the ICCRS leaders held more than 20 workshops, symposiums and other events at five basilicas in Rome. Among the themes were fostering spiritual ecumenism and a preferential option for the oppressed or enslaved people. At today’s rally, the welcome message was given by the ICCRS president Michelle Moran and the Catholic Fraternity leader Gilberto Barbosa.
In another significant event, a Sinhala-English mass was celebrated at the famous Lanciano church where a Eucharistic miracle took place some 1200 years ago. The celebrant was Rev. Fr. Lasantha Kahandawela and the congregation comprised Sri Lanka’s Kithudana Pubuduwe members who had come to Rome for the golden jubilee rally. Catholics believe that during an eighth century A.D. holy mass, after the two fold consecration, the host was changed into live flesh and the wine was changed into live blood which coagulated into five globules, irregular and differing in shape and size. This could be distinctly observed in a chamber behind the Lanciano church altar. At Thursday’s Sinhala-English mass, hymns were sung in Sinhala while special prayers were offered for the Sri Lankan flood victims and for the building of a peaceful just and all inclusive society.