S Lanka church ‘forgives’ Easter suicide bombers

Sri Lanka's Roman Catholic Church yesterday said it had forgiven the suicide bombers behind the attacks that killed at least 279 people last Easter. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith told an Easter mass -- broadcast from a TV studio because of the coronavirus pandemic -- that "we offered love to the enemies who tried to destroy us". "We forgave them," he said, adding that instead of retaliating, the nation's Catholic minority had contemplated Jesus' message of hope, and reduced tensions. The April 21 Easter Sunday bombers targeted three churches and three luxury hotels, killing at least 279 people and wounding 593. Police have arrested 135 people in connection with the bombings, blamed on the National Thowheeth Jama'ath extremist group.199 people have been infected with the virus in the country, with seven deaths.