Pope calls for religious tolerance as Muslims watch Mass in admiration

Pope Francis gave Sri Lanka its first saint at a waterfront Mass for more than half a million people in Colombo.

He called 17th Century missionary Joseph Vaz a model of reconciliation after the country’s recent civil war.

The pope looked relaxed against a sparkling backdrop of rolling waves as he told the hushed crowd that Vaz was an example of religious tolerance relevant to Sri Lanka today.

He told the nation recovering from a long war between mainly Buddhist Sinhalese and Hindu Tamils: "Saint Joseph shows us the importance of transcending religious divisions in the service of peace.”

Vaz, who was captured as a suspected spy after he crept into the tropical island in disguise, was born in 1651 in India’s Goa, then a Portuguese colony.

He travelled south at the age of 36, dressed as a beggar, to a country then divided into kingdoms and European colonies after hearing about the persecution of Catholics by the Dutch protestants.

He worked for years under the protection of a Buddhist king.

Earlier in the tour Francis called on the Buddhist-majority country to uncover the truth about its bloody civil war that ended in 2009 with the army’s crushing defeat of Tamil rebels and the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians.

Francis’ visit, the first by a pope in 20 years, has added to the sense that a new chapter is opening on the island, which voted the wartime leadership out of power last week.

Francis, speaking slowly in English, said Christians should follow the example of Vaz to build peace, justice and reconciliation. Catholics make up about 7 percent of Sri Lanka’s 20 million population, while 10 times as many people follow Buddhism.

“We really need people like him to ensure peace and harmony in this country,” a woman who identified herself as Fathima, wearing traditional Muslim dress, said of the pope.

About 10% of the population follow Islam. They faced rising attacks from Buddhist extremists under the government of former President Mahinda Rajapaka.

Culled from ...DailyMirror