Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Sri Lanka celebrated Mass with 10 bishops from Sri Lanka in St. Peter's Basilica, where Pope Francis later greeted the group and called on the Sri Lankan government to bring those responsible for the attacks to justice.
POPE FRANCIS
I don't want to end without calling on the authorities of your country. Please, for the love of justice, for the love of your people, let it be made absolutely clear who was responsible for these acts. This will bring peace to your conscience and to your homeland.
25 men allegedly linked to ISIS are currently facing trial for plotting the attacks, but victims and their families continue calling for increased accountability of the government, which they say knew about the attacks well in advance and did not act to stop them.
CARD. MALCOLM RANJITH
Archbishop of Colombo (Sri Lanka)
There are signs that this goes beyond the groups of Islamic radicals, there are signs that this was a government conspiracy behind this.
Their trip to Rome takes place as the Sri Lankan government is facing waves of protests in the midst of the worst economic crisis in the country's history.
The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has been harshly critical of the government, calling for both the Pope's assistance and the UN Commission for Human Rights for international support in bringing about a change in regime.
CARD. MALCOLM RANJITH
Archbishop of Colombo (Sri Lanka)
Today there are many families that don't have anything to eat, in extreme poverty, so we also want to talk about this and ask the international community to to help us, and to not support these types of dictatorial governments that do not respect human rights.
Now, these families will return home buoyed by the Pope's call for a transparent investigation into the bombings, and to continue advocating for justice for their loved ones.
JM
