Sri Lankan Catholics have forgiven the 2019 Easter suicide attackers who brought terror to the island nation a year ago, said the cardinal of Colombo.

“Not only did Catholics die, but the bombs killed Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims,” said Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith as he celebrated Easter Mass April 12.

“It is human nature to hurt people through anger, but we have given up that human nature and chosen the life of the resurrection of the Lord. Resurrection is the complete rejection of selfishness,” the cardinal said. His remarks were reported by ucanews.com.

“We have taught them that lesson, not hating anyone in any way. This is what civilization means and that is the Resurrection.”

Nine suicide bombers affiliated with a local Islamist extremist group blasted three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, 2019, killing at least 279 people, including 37 foreign nationals, and injuring about 500. They carried out coordinated bomb attacks at St Sebastian Church in Negombo, St Anthony Shrine in Colombo and the evangelical Zion Church in Batticaloa.

St Sebastian Church and St Anthony Shrine were consecrated and reopened to the public, but Zion Church is still being renovated by the military.

After the bombings, the general public and religious leaders blamed politicians and government officials for failing to prevent the attacks.