Buddhist extremists brutally attack Catholic church in Sri Lanka

Catholic News Agency ^ | 12/11/2009 | n/a

[Pyro7480]

More than 1,000 Buddhist extremists armed with clubs, swords and stones ferociously attacked a Catholic church in the town of Crooswatta, Sri Lanka on December 6, destroying the altar, statues and pews.

L’Osservatore Romano reported that Father Jude Denzil Lakshman, pastor of Our Lady of the Mystical Rose, said “I still can hear their shouts in my ears, ‘Cut him to pieces, kill him’.”

The attack took place after the 7 p.m., Sunday Mass, leaving several parishioners wounded. “It is obvious that the attack was well-planned and that the mob waited for us to come out after Mass,” Father Lakshman said....

he archdiocese noted that Air Force personnel were deployed immediately to bring the mob under control. Guards are still in the area to guarantee the safety of the faithful, which include 293 families.

As of now, police have arrested 11 suspects from Buddhist extremist groups that have attacked the church in the past.

[Tax-chick]

Yes, it was. The Taliban considered the Buddha carvings to be idols.

The tenets of Buddhism do call for nonviolence, as do the tenets of Hinduism, pretty much. However, adherents of a faith often don’t live up to what they profess.

[potlatch]

Thanks Pyro, looks like I was looking up sources at the same time.

[VicVega]

Thanks for the link.

Interesting read.

[Irenic]

I’ve read several books on Buddhism, have them on my shelves and they tout respect other religions, all life...peaceful. I felt just sick when the Taliban blew up the 2 Buddhas in Bamiyan valley.

I guess I was pretty ignorant, I’m still shocked.

[Constitution Day]

Interesting information, T-c. I have never heard of Buddhist violence.

[potlatch]

[However, adherents of a faith often don’t live up to what they profess.]

Lol, never a truer statement spoken!!
Thanks again for verifying my question.

[markomalley]

It is also reported in the Malaysia Sun

As a matter of full disclosure, some (not all) of the comments on the story at the above source indicate that the Christians attacked the Buddhist temple first.

Of course, keep in mind that these are comments and could be added in there by anybody, so I would take them only with an extreme pinch of salt. But there might be a little more to the story.

And here is the story on the Archdiocese of Columbo's web site.

(Of course, the above will make a few iconoclasts around here happy)

More pictures at the Archdiocese's site.

[Earthdweller]

"Buddhism agrees with the moral teachings of other religions"

They could have easily had a beef with this particular Parish. It's not like Catholic tribes or sectors didn't fight each other in the past even in the west.

[RinaseaofDs]

Yup. The idea of ‘locus of control’ is a big tenet of Buddhism - the idea of bringing oneself under control.

Going postal on a Catholic Church would indicate some glitch in the curriculum somewhere.

[Ed Hudgins]

In his book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Christopher Hitchens is critical of Eastern as well as Western religions, pointing out for those New Age types that the former actually do not stand for all that’s good.

[verity]

"Buddhists being framed?"

Could be the Amish again. ;-)

[Mrs. Don-o]

I know almost nothing about it, but here's an interesting read on Tamil Tigers. They may come from Buddhist areas (historically speaking), but they do not seem motivated or even influenced by Buddhist religious perspectives per se. I don't think it's right to call them "Buddhist extremists."

[potlatch]

You are well informed on Buddhism then. I, too, was sick when the centuries old carvings were destroyed.

Guess I’m naive, but I’m always shocked when one religion tries to kill another. [ other than the muslims, who always have ]

[potlatch]

Thanks Mrs D. The article looks pretty involved so I’ll read through it later.

[potlatch]

You both had somewhat similar remarks.

Earthdweller;
{They could have easily had a beef with this particular Parish]

RinaseaofDs;
[Going postal on a Catholic Church would indicate some glitch in the curriculum somewhere.]

We'll probably never know the reason for the attack.

[Deb]

"...stupid trope..."

Huh? Are you retarded? This is, in fact, exactly what the Muslims do all over the World. Like in Indonesia when armies of them went from island to island murdering entire congregations of Catholics, beheading the priests and burning the churches.

Its what they are doing now all over Kosovo and Macedonia.

Are you really this clueless?

I was in Sri Lanka for six months and was told continuously how the four great religions coexisted without incident. That is until the Muslims started blowing themselves up and hacking their neighbors to pieces. This incident is completely uncharacteristic of the Buddhists.

[ichabod1]

Good point — that’s kind of like saying “there go those Amish again.”

[ichabod1]

They may think the Catholics are sheep stealing. Unholy poaching. Proselytization really pisses people off.

[ichabod1]

Dude, I don’t even know what you’re talking about. I know the Hindus have been known to go on the offensive against the muslin, but that’s usually in retribution for past insults. Who’s attacking whom, that we should be so open minded. If you hear of an attack and guess it’s the dirty arab up to his old tricks, your track record is bound to be pretty good over time.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Historic crimes don't seem generalizable to religions, as much as generalizable to the human race. Christian misbehavior, for instance, is invariably in direct violation of the precepts and example of the founder of Christianity; Buddhist misbehavior likewise.

I'll make an exception for Islam, inasmuch as Mohammad was actually criminal in precept and in example: an ambusher of caravans, an abductor of slaves, an executioner of disarmed captives, an abuser of women.