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| Sunday, 19 December 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Shed differences, pursue peace, Bishops tell politicians The Catholic Bishops' Conference in its Christmas message has called upon all citizens to work for peace with justice and respect for all irrespective of race and religion. They have appealed, in particular to the political leaders to shed all political differences and other vested interests and pursue the search for lasting peace. "Let us pray for the 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 for peace," they added. The message: "Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Our Saviour Lord Jesus Christ into the human family. The Christ child in Bethlehem is the incarnate Son of God. He became man in order to reveal to us the preciousness of human life and its dignity. As we behold the babe in the manger, we realise that every human being is not merely made in the 'image and likeness of God', but that God, who became man, has invested human nature with an unparalleled dignity, which is inviolable. "We are celebrating Christmas at a time when respect for human life and dignity in our country is at a very low ebb. Torture and killings There is so much violence, crime and man's inhumanity to man. Human 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. Jesus said that He came to give life and life in its fullness (John. 10/10). 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 in 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. "At the birth of the Divine child in Bethlehem, the angels sang "Glory to God in the highest and peace to men of goodwill. 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. Dignity and equality Unless and until we learn to recognise that, we are all children of mother Lanka and treat each other with dignity and equality and 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. Appeal 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 for 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." |
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