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Bishops call for peace of the brave
The Catholic Bishops of Sri Lanka have called upon the political leaders of the country and the people to couragously pursue the path of peace with justice at a time when the respect for human life and justice is at a low ebb.

In a Christmas message the Bishops said:
"We are celebrating Christmas at a time when respect for human life and dignity in our country is at a very low ebb. There is so much violence, crime and man's inhumanity to man. Hence life has become cheap and expendable.

There are allegations of torture and killings by none other than the law enforcement authorities. This is an alarming situation, that does not augur well for our country and it is a gross violation of the fundamental right of every human being to life. We wish to affirm, during this beautiful season, that human life has to be protected, nourished and promoted at every level including the right to life of the unborn. We have a tradition, which is sacred to our country, namely, our love for children, and the duty incumbent upon our families to look after our children and give them the opportunity to grow up as integral human beings. Jesus came to bring us the gift of peace with dignity and justice. He taught us that we must respect one another and treat each other as members of one human family. In our dear land, we need to treat the diversity of languages, religions and cultural traditions not as divisive factors but as a source of richness and unity.

Unless and until we learn to recognise that, we are all children of mother Lanka and treat each other with dignity and equality there cannot be lasting peace in our land. If Christmas is to be meaningful, we shall have to commit ourselves to this vision.

Let us Christians rededicate ourselves to be true 'Peacemakers' as we celebrate the beautiful event of the birth of Jesus. We call on all citizens of our dear motherland to work for peace with justice and respect for all irrespective of race and religion. We appeal to our political leaders in particular, to shed all political differences and other vested interests and pursue the search of peace, lasting peace, in our beloved country.

Let us pray for this dream of peace to be realised in the near future as many people are disillusioned by the intransigence of those who should courageously pursue the search of peace.

We wish all our fellow citizens a very happy Christmas full of God's blessings specially peace, peace in our families, peace in our neighbourhoods and most of all peace in our country so that we can be proud to call ourselves Sri Lankans.Bishop Marius Peiris. Secretary General, CBCSL

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