The head of Sri Lanka's Catholic Church has made an impassioned plea to Pope Francis to help discover the truth behind the Easter bombings.

During an audience with the Pope in St Peter's Basilica, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith spoke about the pain the community had suffered because of the government's refusal to reveal the facts about the Easter 2019 terrorist attack that killed 269 people.

Cardinal Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo, told the Holy Father: "It has been three years since these attacks, but we still have not discovered the true authors. At first the responsibility was laid at the feet of the Islamic community - but now there are elements that point to a political plot, with connections between certain political groups and the extremists who set off the bombs."

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith lead a delegation to Rome to mark the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks. This included survivors of the Easter bombings, such as Gloriya George, whose father died in her arms shortly after the blast, which also left her deaf.

The delegation participated in a Mass for the more than 3,500 Sri Lankan Catholics working in Italy.

The Cardinal said: "There has been an attempt from some sectors to create inter-religious conflicts with us, and we have to be attentive to not let this succeed," adding that the group included members of the Protestant, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu communities.

Expressing his closeness with families who lost loved ones, Pope Francis urged Sri Lanka's authorities to reveal the truth.

He said: "Please, out of love for justice, out of love for your people, let it be made clear once and for all who was responsible for these events."

Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, organised by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Cardinal Ranjith said: "The government has hidden everything, laying all the blame on a group of radical Muslims, they want to create tensions between Christians, Muslims and Buddhists. We don't want this. We want to live in peace with everybody. We want to know who was behind this plot."

In a stinging condemnation of the current Sri Lankan administration, Cardinal Ranjith went on to criticise the government's human-rights record - and hit out at its economic policies, which he claimed had put many families on the breadline.

He said: "The Church is not under threat in Sri Lanka, but human rights are. In Sri Lanka, we are witnessing a struggle between the Sri Lankan population against the government.

"The government has mismanaged the economy and now we have many families without food. There is extreme poverty, and we want also to speak about this phenomenon so that the international community can help us, and not support this type of dictatorial government that does not respect human rights."

On the other hand, Pope Francis on Monday, April 25, expressed his closeness with the families of the victims of Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday bombings 3 years ago, and urged the country's authorities to unveil the truth behind the attacks, saying it will usher in peace.

He also prayed that the country be able to tide over its worst economic crisis in living memory.

The Pope was addressing some 3,500 Sri Lankan Catholics working in Italy, including a delegation of the families of victims and survivors of the 2019 terrorist bomb attacks, led by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo.

Some 270 people were killed, including at least 45 foreign nationals and some 500 were injured, as 3 churches and 3 luxury hotels were hit in a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide bomb attacks on 21 April 2019. 

Most of the casualties took place in St. Sebastian’s Catholic Church in the suburb of Negombo, belonging to Cardinal Ranjith’s Archdiocese of Colombo, where 113 died. The other churches hit were St. Anthony’s Shrine in Kochchikade, also of Colombo Archdiocese, and the Evangelical Zion Church of Batticaloa on the eastern coast.

The outspoken Sri Lankan Cardinal has been vigorously calling for justice, alleging that the government has been covering up the investigations into the bombings, in order to protect the brains behind them. 

Speaking to the Sri Lankan group at the end of a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Ranjith in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, Pope Francis noted that they were gathered there to mark the “anniversary of the tragic events which, on Easter Day 2019, sowed death and terror in Sri Lanka”.

Assuring them with the Easter greeting of the Risen Lord, "Peace be with you", the Pope said, “In the face of the horror and absurdity of certain acts, which seem impossible to be committed by people, it is evident that this is the work of the Evil One.”  

He said this explains why “the Son of God, the Innocent, the Holy, the Righteous, had to die crucified to save us”.  

“He took upon himself not only death, but the cruelty of evil, hatred, fratricidal violence. His Cross and his Resurrection are light of hope in the thickest darkness,” the Pope said, urging the Sri Lankan Catholics to “pray for all the victims of violence and war, especially terrorism”.

Pope Francis then made an appeal to the authorities of Sri Lanka regarding the Easter bombings.

“Please, out of love for justice, out of love for your people, let it be made clear once and for all who were responsible for these events,” he said, assuring, “This will bring peace to your conscience and to your country.”

The Holy Father told the Catholics that he also wanted to join them to pray for their homeland, which he visited in 2015.

“Let us pray for the authorities, for those who have social and educational responsibilities and for all the people,” the Pope said. “May the present difficulties be solved with the commitment and collaboration of all,” he urged.

The Holy Father was referring to Sri Lanka’s worst economic nightmare in its history since its independence from British rule in 1948.

With foreign exchange reserves abysmally low, the South Asian nation is struggling to import essential goods, such as food, fuel, cooking gas and medicine, and is facing power cuts of up to 13 hours a day. The devaluation of its currency has sent inflation soaring to 21.5 percent in March, the highest so far, hitting the already struggling businesses and exporters, but especially the people.

Sri Lanka has been roiled with nationwide protests demanding the resignation of President Rajapaksa and his government over the unprecedented crisis blamed on rank corruption and mismanagement.

Concluding his greetings, Pope Francis imparted his blessing on the Sri Lankan community, inviting them to pray for the Church in Sri Lanka that it be filled with the Holy Spirit and joyfully announce the Gospel of Christ the Saviour.

Cardinal Ranjith marked the 3rd anniversary of the Eastern bombings with a ceremony at St. Sebastian’s Church on Thursday. Without mincing words, he blamed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government for failing to keep his pledge to grant justice to the victims and cleansing the country of “all elements of terror”.  

“The incumbent president who campaigned on a promise to investigate the attack have forgotten all those promises, brushed commission findings under the rug, attempted to hide facts,” Cardinal Ranjith said. Condemning the cover-up, he warned that “everyone responsible for this will suffer the consequences of their actions soon”.

The Cardinal has also been blaming the government for the current economic crunch, calling for unity among politicians to save the nation from becoming a failed state.