A man rests on a mat as other Tamil civilians and their children sit near their belongings in a refugee camp located on the outskirts of the town of Vavuniya in northern Sri Lanka May 4. (CNS photo/Reuters)
Oblate Father Saviripillai Edmund Reginald was reported May 21 to be safe with his parents in a government-run camp near the city of of Vavuniya, Sri Lanka.
He was able to get a message to family members outside of the country that he escaped the war zone where the final battle between Sri Lankan military forces and the Tamil Tiger rebels took place May 18. He had not been heard from since May 14.
Oblate Father Seamus Finn, the U.S. director of the Missionary Oblates’ justice, peace and integrity of creation program in Washington, said telephone calls are monitored and restrictions remain on the movement of the Tamil minority in the northern region of the country, especially those confined to the camps.
Concern remains for the future of the Tamil people, an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu on the Indian subcontinent and the northeastern part of Sri Lanka, off the southeast coast of India. Tamils had sought an independent state in Sri Lanka for more than 50 years, and rebel factions initiated military action in 1983 with that goal in mind.
CNS will continue to report on the Catholic Church’s attempts to aid in recovery efforts and to assure that the human rights of the Tamil people are protected.
CNS Blog 
Not that we all dont welcome the time that we will meet face to face with our Lord Jesus Christ but Im relieved to hear that a priest hasnt been murdered for a change.
God Bless and brothers and sisters please pray for your persecuted brothers and sisters especially the underground Church in China under persecution.
God Bless them and love them.
Lets pray that the Pope’s Letter to the Chinese Church gets to them sometime soon.
hello im not very expirienced and I havent really heard much about whats going on in sri lanka but I have heard enought to say the its not right what there doing to the poor inescent people there … i dont want people to look at the paper and feel for them we have to do somthing … your lucky you have paper … your lucky you have water and if your reading this u must have enternet so that must mean you have a pretty good life…compared to the people around the world how need the help!