Christian festival in Sri Lanka stands to bridge ethnic rifts
Nearly three decades of bloody civil war has left Sri Lanka dangerously split along ethnic lines and spiritually wounded. Yet hope for a better future for the Buddhist-majority country can be found in an unlikely place: a Christian shrine deep in the jungles of the South Asian island.
The Madhu Church, the holiest shrine for Catholics in Sri Lanka, and one that is also revered by the general public. It is named in honour of the Virgin Saint of Madhu, who Pope Benedict XVI has described as being "beloved and venerated by all Sri Lankans."
"Through the war period, our themes had been reconciliation and peace," says Father Rayappu Joseph, Bishop of Mannar Diocese. He hopes that this year's Feast of Our Lady Madhu, commonly referred to as the Madhu Festival, which will be held August 12 to 15 at the Madhu Church will help his countrymen to set aside their prejudices and grievances. "Pilgrims forget their differences and go through an experience of being members of one mother and of [one] country."
Building a lasting peace in Sri Lanka will be extremely difficult. Even though the government of Sri Lanka, which is dominated by the Sinhalese ethnic majority, declared victory over minority Tamil rebels in May, many Sri Lankans remain bitter, angry and distrustful of their former enemies.
But Sri Lanka's Christian community, which makes up an estimated seven per cent of the population and draws members from both the Sinhalese and Tamil groups, is uniquely positioned to play a constructive role in Sri Lanka's national reconciliation process.
In a 2008 press statement, Joseph reported that the shrine had "served the spiritual needs of Sri Lankans from different walks of life, different ethnicities, different religions and different areas of the country" for more than 400 years.
Even the Sri Lankan government, which is currently studying a proposed anti-religious conversion law which some say targets Christians, acknowledges the undeniable importance of the shrine. According to the department of government information: "The Shrine at Madhu is held sacred and respected by all Sri Lankans irrespective of religion and ethnicity."
The Madhu festival is sombre; no alcohol or music are allowed. In its heyday, the annual festival reportedly attracted an estimated one million people. But the civil war drastically reduced the number of pilgrims making the trek to the shrine. And as the fighting intensified, thousands of displaced persons were granted refuge at the Madhu Church.
Political and/or military activities at the shrine have always been forbidden by the church. That edict, however, was not respected by the combatants. In 1999, for example, rebel forces, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), seized control of the region and dug trenches around the church.
Government forces were not on the side of the angels, either. In the spring of 2008, the army shelled the LTTE stronghold, damaging the shrine.
Now that the fighting has ended, the Sri Lankan government seems eager to restore the festival to its former "grand scale." According to the Ministry of Defence, Public Security, and Law and Order, this year's festival is expected to draw 400,000 devotees. And to facilitate the pilgrimage to the Madhu Church, the government has pledged to complete a special access road in time for this year's festival.
Sri Lanka faces many challenges in the immediate post-war era, including the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons currently interned at government-run camps. Although the Madhu Festival is not a panacea for the country's pressing political and humanitarian problems, it offers something that neither the government nor the Tamil Tigers can build: a bridge between the Sinhalese and Tamil peoples.
"Besides the spiritual experience," says Bishop Joseph, "the festival at Madhu is held to foster unity, brotherhood of all the people in Sri Lanka."
Dear Readers:
ChristianWeek relies on your generous support. please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt.Thank you, from Christianweek.
