Madhu Shrine
The Madhu Shrine, for centuries respected as a zone of peace, was over-run by government forces in April 2008. The church property was shelled, and the priests and nuns were forced to evacuate. The Bishop of Mannar issued numerous appeals to the government to withdraw its forces and to respect the area as a peace zone, but these appeals were ignored. The JPIC Office worked to support the Church in Sri Lanka in this regard.
At present, the Madhu area is host to military-controlled refugee camps housing those caught up in the fighting between the LTTE and the Sri Lanka military. Please see our page on Sri Lanka for links to more information.
Resources:
- Appeal to protect the shrine of our lady of Madhu from all military presence and operations; 1st April, 2008 – (Download PDF)
- Sri Lankan Catholic Bishops Demand the Military Quit the Madhu Shrine (Download PDF)
- Speech by Mano Ganesan, Member of Parliament, on the Madhu Shrine controversy (Dowload PDF)
