Pope Francis told the bishops of Sri Lanka last week that the Church is uniquely placed to bring unity to the troubled country. Meanwhile, an international conference there highlighted how the vision of the Jesuit scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin could heal its wounds, left by decades of civil war The smooth new highways of Sri Lanka’s largest city, Colombo, are dotted with posters that proclaim, “Another step towards making Sri Lanka the star of Asia”. The wide roads connect with back streets where, 30 years ago, Tamil teenagers were burnt alive by their Sinhalese neighbours in riots that sparked 25 years of civil war between Tamil militants and the Sinhalese Government. Around 100,000 people died. The war ended in 2009, but the Sri Lankans I met over the course of