Catholic Church in Sri Lanka:

Working for the common good of all

W T A Leslie Fernando

In the past the Western powers ruled countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America by the power of the gun. Today they adopt various devices like globalisation, IMF, NGOs, multi-national companies consumerism and cultural invasion to keep the third world countries under their subjugation. The whole process interned as ‘Re-colonisation’ and they use Christianity too for their imperial designs

In Europe most of the people are nominal Christian. The churches are empty even on Sundays and it seems only about 10 percent in Europe practice the religion. Nevertheless, the Europeans spend lavishly convert people in the third world to Christianity because it is part of recolonisation. In the past Korea was predominantly a Buddhist country. But now there is a Christian majority there as a result of such tactics.

Fr Marcelline Jayakody

Born : June 3, 1902 at Dankotuwa Ordained as priest on : December 20, 1927 Well-known Catholic priest and household name Musician, poet, lyricist, author, journalist Composed hymns set to his own music They were simple and close to people

Mother Teresa

Religion: Catholic Order: Missionaries of Charity Nationality: Indian Born: August 26, 1910 - Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu Died: September 5, 1997 (aged 87) Calcutta, India

In this process the Fundamental Christian sects offer money and other inducements for conversions. Although it cannot be alleged that the Catholic Church adopts such dubious means it employs various other measures.

The present position of the Catholic Church is that those of other faiths and even with no faith could attain salvation if they lead a righteous life according to their conscience.

Fifty questions about Catholicism’s published by St Paul’s in Mumbai (1998) - page 135.

At the same time, the Catholic Church spends large sums for evangelisation and it has a design to convert people in Asia to Christianity as the Catholic faith is not so prevalent in the region. In the process it emphasises dialogue with other religions.

It is revealed in the book Catholic Plot Against Buddhism published in Thailand as disclosed in the review of it by S Dhammika Thera of Australia published in February 2006 of Dhamsara issue, the methods adopted by some Catholic circles to make in-roads into Buddhism.

Buddhist meditation

The Catholic clergy getting to learn Buddhism even better than Buddhist Bhikkhus, equating God to the Buddhist concept of Dhamma, giving a Catholic outlook Buddhist meditation and a Catholic colouring to national festivals are some of them.

We find that similar tactics are being adopted by the Catholic clergy in Sri Lanka as well. There are some Catholic priests who master Buddhism and preach that Buddhism and Christianity are parallel religions. It is in this direction that once a Catholic priest expressed that at one time the Buddha was a Catholic Saint called St Joasapat.

There are others who introduce Buddhist rituals to Catholic Churches at festivals like Vesak. There are some Catholic priests who want to celebrate Easter and New Year together to transform New Year as a Catholic festival. There are also some Catholic priests who want to distort the Catholic faith to come to terms with Buddhists. Once a Catholic priest challenged the dogma of the immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

It is true that people of different faiths could get together for the common good of all. This should be done while maintaining their religious identity. Distorting religions, mixing them to make a hotchpotch would lead to the destruction of all the religions. Today you find Some Maha Sangha who had been vociferous about the degradation of our spiritual and cultural values a defenced by drawing them to various religious alliances and multi-religious forums.

Miraculous healings

On the other hand you find among Catholics too like other Christian sects healing services based on hypnotism, services with high spirited noisy music and reflections of statues on walls to attract people. At one time Catholics flocked in the thousands to Kudagama for miraculous healings. But now the place is deserted. Falsehood cannot last long.

The Catholic Church today seems to be quite different from the institutions set up by Christ. The ecclesiastical pomp and ceremony, majesty and splendour are incompatible with the teachings of Christ, the simple Gallilean. The Church lasts today not because of the hierarchy who lead luxurious lives but because of the clergy and religious minded like Mother Teresa, who adhere to the vows of poverty and chastity and devoted their lives for the cause of the poor, helpless and the suffering and indomitable faith of the laymen.

However there are some Catholic priests in Sri Lanka who have stood for the Truth. Fr Marcelline Jayakody was such a sincere priest. He was so close to the Buddhist temple and Buddhist Bhikkhus, he was called the Pansale Piyatuma (The Catholic Priest of the Buddhist Temple). Yet he never used his good offices to convert Buddhists to Christianity. He wished that Buddhists remain good and better Buddhists. It is clear from this verse found in the Poem ‘Vehera’ in his award winning work Muthu.

On the other hand Fr Marcelline Jayakody never betrayed Christianity.

He never approved performing Buddhist rituals in Catholic churches. In his columns at one time in the Catholic Messenger he denounced mixing religious traditions saying “There are some Catholics today who want to be more Buddhist and Hindu than Buddhists and Hindus themselves.” Fr Joseph E Fernando S J who has presented the celebrated book ‘The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka - Reflections’ is another who has truthfully analyzed the present position of the Catholic Church in our country. He reveals that the Church leadership both clergy and laity is still in the hands of the English educated elite who in their thinking and lifestyle practices a bourgeoisie Christianity. He identifies Western liberal Christianity as a cancer that kills an intimate relationship with Christ and subtle temptation that misdirects the believer away from God.

Fr Joseph E Fernando further expresses that bourgeoisie Christianity is based on the values and lifestyles not in keeping with the spirituality found in the Gospel. He emphasises that we have to repent for our bourgeoisie Christianity and be converted. He adds that it is therefore left to us to choose between bourgeoisie Christianity and is preached by Christ.

Catholic Church

Although the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka talks about a Church opting for the poor, it maintains its reactionary policies. Many Catholic priests work in collaboration with NGOs that have been set up with hidden agendas to foster capitalism. The reactionary concepts of the Catholic Church are well manifested in its educational policy.

After take over of schools the Catholic Church was allowed to have non-fee-levying schools and it is illegal to charge students on admission in the form of donations. When Fr W L A Don Peter was the Rector of St. Joseph’s College he never resorted to so-called ‘donations’ to get large sums on admissions. In 1979, the J R Jayewardene Government provided teachers salaries, pensions and other benefits for non-fee-levying schools. Still large sums of monies are levied on admission of students to these schools.

To be continued