The Anglican bishops of Sri Lanka were amongst the ecumenical guests to greet Pope Francis on his tour of Asia last week.

The Anglican bishops of Sri Lanka were amongst the ecumenical guests to greet Pope Francis on his tour of Asia last week. The Bishop of Colombo, the Rt. Rev. Dhiloraj Canagasabey welcomed the pope to an interfaith meeting of Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu leaders in the capital Sri Lanka. Addressing the conflict between militant Buddhism and the minority Hindu and Muslim faiths in Sri Lanka, the pope said: “For the sake of peace, religious beliefs must never be allowed to be abused in the cause of violence and war. We must be clear and unequivocal in challenging our communities to live fully the tenets of peace and coexistence found in each religion, and to denounce acts of violence when they are committed.” After the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicans are Sri Lanka’s second largest Christian body. Though not directly involved in the clashes between Buddhists and Hindus Christian churches have been targeted by extremists from both sides of the religious and ethnic divide in the country.