Sri Lanka’s Catholics urge Francis to keep away from the country -

 

(©LaPresse)

(©LaPresse) Catholics in Colombo

Presidential elections have been set for January 8th and the Pope risks arriving in a country caught up in a whirlwind of violence. The Vatican delegation has expressed its concern

Paolo Affatato Rome Guido Marini, Master of Papal Ceremonies reached Colombo yesterday and will be presenting the schedule of the liturgies Pope Francis will be presiding – when he visits the island from 13 to 15 January 2015 - in an series of intense meetings with bishops and priests that will take place over three days. But all of Marini’s patient work may be in vain.
 
The subject of the Pope’s visit has ended up in a bundle of controversies that could jeopardise the papal trip. The situation has sparked desperate appeals from Sri Lanka’s Catholics who are urging Francis not to go and to postpone his visit.
 
As forecast, it is the politicisation of the event that is causing the most concern given the situation on the ground. After a lot of toing and froing with the allies, the Church and Buddhist radicals,  Sri Lanka’s current President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has called for the presidential election to be brought forward to 8 January and intends to run for a third consecutive term. He did so ensuring his political moves were legitimate thanks to an ad hoc modification to the Constitution.
 
Using the Pope’s visit to win votes was too strong a temptation. The appeals made by Sri Lanka’s bishops and the diplomatic advice from the Vatican, urging the postponement of the elections fell on deaf ears. Soon, the first campaign posters depicting a radiant Rajapaksa showing off beside a smiling Pope Francis were released, with a caption that reads: "Blessings of the Holy Father; You are our president, victory for you."
 
Another point that should be considered, is that the Pope risks being plunged into whirlwind of social protests upon his arrival in the country; in recent years, this kind of post-electoral violence has become the norm on the South Asian island.
 
Voices of concern were soon raised, Fr. Leo Perera, director of the lay apostolate in the Archdiocese of Colombo, being one of the first to do so. In an open letter to Sri Lanka’s bishops, Perera called for the trip to be cancelled “to prevent the Pope from being used as an instrument of propaganda.”

Speaking about a campaign that has been spreading fast across social media, Perera recalled that “although the state and the Church have invested a great deal of money, the financial aspect should not be the priority.” “A visit so soon after the election results (which are due between 10 and 11 January),” he explained, “would have disastrous consequences for Catholics in Sri Lanka and would give the impression that the Church is backing the President.”
 
S. J. Emmanuel, a Tamil priest who emigrated to Germany and is leader of the Tamil Global Forum, pointed out to Vatican Insider that “these elections do not promise any benefits for ethnic or religious minorities in Sri Lanka. Both of the main candidates, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena, a former minister in the Rajapaksa government, are supporters of Sinhalese and Buddhist nationalism and have not made one single promise to the minorities.”
 
But according to Emmanuel it is unlikely the papal visit will be postponed. “Rajapaksa, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and Bishop Rayappu Joseph of Mannar (a diocese in Tamil territory where Francis is expected to stop off, Ed.), want the Pope’s visit to take place while they are still in charge,” above all for personal prestige reasons.
 
Ruki Fernando, a Catholic human rights activist, is another influential voice. He recalled the complexity of the custom of forming and grouping together associations and movements (associazionismo): “After years of repression of all opposition, there is fresh hope and courage among citizens who are keen to participate in discussion about their future and issues such as democratic governance, rule of law, peace and reconciliation.”
 
“I believe that Catholics should be fully involved in such questions, which are decisive for the future of the country. In the days following the elections, Sri Lankans, Catholics included, will be busy campaigning for a programme of reforms regarding the rule of law, freedom in the media, an independent judiciary, responsibility for human rights violations, reconciliation, the political solution to the ethnic conflict.” The Pope’s presence on those days could draw attention away from issues that are crucial for Sri Lanka, the activist pointed out.
 
One incident remains an open wound: Sri Lanka is a country in which a Catholic priest can disappear for writing a letter to the Pope. In May 2009, Francis Joseph, a Tamil priest, informed Benedict XVI about the massacres being carried out by the army against the Tamils. Today, he is one of the 146 thousand missing people which the Rajapaksa government is conveniently ignoring, closing the door on the truth and on justice.