Pope Francis calls for reconciliation in Sri Lanka

Pope Francis called for reconciliation during a visit to Sri Lanka, a country still healing from a 26-year civil war and emerging from a hard-fought presidential election that highlighted ethnic and religious tensions.

The pope’s arrival in Colombo on Tuesday marked the start of his second visit to Asia as pontiff, underscoring his focus on the developing world and a continent that is home to 60% of the world’s population but just 12% of the global Catholic community. Pope Francis travels to the Philippines on Thursday for the second leg of his trip.

Francis, 78, delivered the speech on the tarmac of Colombo's international airport, where he was welcomed by Sri Lanka's new president, Maithripala Sirisena, who was sworn in Friday after a major electoral upset.

The pope arrived to a colorful welcome ceremony, complete with traditional drummers and dancers from both the Sinhalese and Tamil groups, and a children's choir singing a song of welcome in both languages of Sri Lanka, as well as English and Italian.

The pope addressed the difficulties of healing after the devastating war between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam, which ended in 2009. He urged Sri Lanka’s multiethnic, multireligious population to promote “human dignity, respect for human rights” and the full inclusion of each member of society.

“Sri Lanka for many years knew the horrors of civil strife and is now seeking to consolidate peace and to heal the scars of those years,” Pope Francis said. “The process of healing…needs to include the pursuit of truth….as a means of promoting justice, healing and unity.”