Colombo, June 25 (IANS) At least 176 children have lost either both or one of their parents in the Easter Sunday terror bombings which killed over 250 people and injured hundreds, Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has said.
The April 21 attacks on three churches, three luxury hotels and two other locations were claimed by the Islamic State terror group.
“One hundred and seventy-six children have lost either both or one of their parents… The church is focusing on these groups to help them recover and return to normalcy,” Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror.
His comments came during his visit to Rome last week. The Cardinal told the US-based Catholic channel “EWTN” that his Archdiocese would focus on helping the children who had been traumatized by the bombings.
Cardinal Ranjith also said that the church will not concentrate on the renovation of churches damaged in the blasts as the government had undertaken that assignment
Referring to his meeting with Pope Francis, the Cardinal said he briefed the pontiff on what had happened and what the church was doing with regard to rebuilding the lives of those affected by the April carnage.
“I provided the Pope with DVDs on the Easter Sunday attacks,” Cardinal Ranjith said.