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by W. T. A. Leslie Fernando

Fr. W. L. A. Don Peter

On June 29, 2003, there will be an oration about Mgr. Fr. W. L. A. Don Peter by Fr. Stanley Abeysekera and his portrait will be unveiled by the Most Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando, the former Archbishop of Colombo at Aquinas College of Higher Studies. Fr. W. L. A. Don Peter, the foremost Catholic scholar and educationist deserves such honour and much more.

Fr. Welgama Lekam Appuhamilage Don Peter was born on September 25, 1916 at Kondegammulla a hamlet five miles inland from Negombo. After his elementary education at the village school, he had his secondary education at Maris Stella College, Negombo, the cradle of many a Catholic priest. In 1935 Fr. Don Peter entered St. Aloysius Seminary and attended St. Joseph's College, Colombo.

Fr. W. L. A. Don Peter had his priestly formation at St. Bernard's Seminary. He was ordained a priest on March 25, 1941 by Dr. J. M. Masson the then Archbishop of Colombo.

From 1941 to 1946, he served as an assistant parish priest at St. Mary's Church, Grand Street, Negombo and then at St. Thomas' Church, Kotte. As the majority of parishioners in Grand Street and Munnakara in Negombo were Tamil speaking, Fr. Don Peter studied Tamil and offered Mass in Tamil as well.

St. Joseph's

In 1946, Fr. Don Peter was appointed to St. Joseph's College, Colombo. There he served under the great educationist Fr. Peter Pillai whose path he was to follow. At St. Joseph's he served as the Prefect of Boarders, Prefect of Studies and Prefect of Discipline.

In the 1940s specially around independence there was a national awakening in Sri Lanka. This national consciousness had its effect on the Catholic Church as well. Bishop Edmund Pieris and priests like Fr. Marcelline Jayakody, Fr. D. J. Anthony and Fr. Moses Perera made an effort to give a national outlook to the Church.

Fr. W. L. A. Don Peter who studied pali on his own at the seminary evinced an interest in this field and began to lean towards oriental studies. While leading a busy life at St. Joseph's he spent his leisure hours in studying oriental languages, history and culture.

Archbishop

In 1947, Dr. Thomas Benjamin Cooray became the Archbishop of Colombo. He had been the teacher of Fr. Don Peter both at St. Joseph's and St. Bernard's Seminary and knew the talents of Fr. Don Peter. In 1950, Archbishop Thomas Cooray sent him abroad for further studies. Fr. Don Peter studied missiology for one year at the Urbanian University taking up his residence at the College of St. Peter, the Apostle in Rome. From there he proceeded to England and joined the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.

The Vatican Council II (1962-65) changed the attitude of the Catholic Church towards other religions. It directed that Catholics should acknowledge, preserve and promote the spiritual and moral good found in other religions and values in their society and culture. In 1950s long before the Vatican Council II, Fr. Don Peter made a parallel study of Buddhism and Christianity in Sri Lanka and appreciated their impact on the spiritual, moral and social life in the country.

For his PhD at the University of London, Fr. W. L. A. Don Peter presented the thesis, "A Comparative Study of the influence of Buddhism and Christianity in Ceylon Education". Fr. Don Peter in his books like "Buddhist and Benedictine Monastic Education" and research papers like "St. Francis and the Buddha", "Religious life, Buddhist and Christian", he brings forth the spirituality in the two religions, the austere discipline of some Catholic orders and their similarity to the Vinaya rules of the Buddhist Sangha.

It was as an educationist that Fr. W. L. A. Don Peter shined most. In 1956, he was appointed Director of St. Aloysius' Seminary. He served there with great acceptance and introduced new educational methods and cultural features. In 1961, he was appointed Rector of St. Joseph's College, Colombo, the leading Catholic school in Sri Lanka.

It was soon after the schools Take Over and Fr. Don Peter had to face hard times. However Fr. Don Peter steered St. Joseph's as a non-fee levying private school without resorting to any donations for admissions. He also gave oriental studies a special place at St. Joseph's and brought it to the mainstream of national life.

Fr. W.L.A. Don Peter functioned as the Rector of Aquinas College of Higher Studies from 1971 to 1976 and then from 1979 to 1989 - He expanded the curriculum of Aquinas by introducing new courses in English, organic chemistry, diploma in Agriculture and Journalism and computer technology. he also erected new buildings.

In fact Fr. Don Peter almost succeeded in raising Aquinas to degree awarding university level. However awarding university status to Aquinas had to be dropped as a matter of policy. In 1986, the Church authorities in appreciation of his services to Aquinas named its auditorium "Don Peter Auditorium".

Most of the research work of Fr. Don Peter is on Christian education in Sri Lanka, the major work being "Education in Sri Lanka under the Portuguese". In 1967 Fr. W.L.A. Don Peter was appointed domestic prelate to the Papal Throne by Pope Paul VI with the title Rt. Rev. Monsignor in recognition of his services to Catholic education. Fr. W.L.A. Don Peter has made deep insights into Church history in Sri Lanka. In 1963, he presented the work "Studies in Ceylon Church History" embodying his historical research. Fr. Don Peter was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britan in 1965. Both Prof. George D. Winius of Holland and Prof. C.R. de Silva, renowned historians, have expressed the view that Fr. Don Peter is the worthy successor to Fr. S.G. Perera the great historian.

Fr. W.L.A. Don peter has rendered his services both to the Church and the State in other spheres as well.

He served as the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Colombo and as a member of Archdiocesan Episcopal council. He has served as a member of the Government educational Publications Board and president of the Headmasters' Conference. He had the honour of serving in the national committee of Sri Lankan section of the sources for the UNESCO History of Nations.

Fr. W.L.A. Don Peter is well known for his zest for research and zealous application to work with a great capacity to maximise the use of time. He has presented over two scores of books and written more than 400 learned articles both in Sinhala and English for journals here and abroad. Fr. Don Peter is a respected author whose lucid style of writing provides fascinating reading. novels

Fr. Don Peter has also written a series of novels for children and some of them have been re-printed several times. His novel "Vana Gatha Lamo", a story of jungle adventure has gone through seven editions. His novel for children, "Tekkawatte Kathawa", won the Presidential award for the Best Children's Novel in 1998.

It was Fr. W.L.A. Don Peter who set up the Dhama Sarana Institute at Tudella, Ja-Ela. From 1990 to 1995 it released 35 booklets dealing with the Christian doctrine, Catholic discipline, lives of Saints and Church History in Sri Lanka at a nominal price around Rs. 10. Some of them reply the arguments of fundamentalists and some priests who cause confusion within the Church.

It is a pity that this project had to be discontinued due to lack of interest on the part of the Church authorities.

As a journalist Fr. Don Peter has been a fearless defender of the Catholic doctrine. The renowned Sinhala writer and author Martin Wickremasinghe had been a close friend of Fr. Don Peter because of their common interest on indigenous culture. In a series of articles in "Dinamina" Fr. Don peter crossed swords with him on the Catholic Church and democracy. likewise, Fr. Don Peter has entered into controversies with many on the role of the Catholic church.

Fr. W.L.A. Don Peter with his research on Church history is frank to admit that the missionaries made use of the political power of the Portuguese to spread the Catholic faith in Sri Lanka. But he refutes the charge that there were conversions by force. He vividly describes how the Catholic faith strengthened and deepened its roots in the country during the Dutch persecution.

In his writings Fr. Don Peter shows the impact of Catholic institutions on education, culture and morals of the people. In his comparative studies on Buddhism and Christianity Fr. Don Peter always emphasises the spiritual aspects of religions, their religious orders and monastic life.

Survived

The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has survived many trials and tribulations because of its spiritual fervour and disciplined and exemplary lives of the clergy. Fr. W.L.A. Don Peter believes that there is no better way to propagate the faith than holy life, exemplary behaviour and personal example.

Fr. W.L.A. Don Peter as a man of God always projects a spiritual outlook on religion. His every endeavour as a scholar, educationist, administrator and social reformer is in harmony with his priesthood. He never transgresses on things where angels fear to tread. He practises what he preaches and leads a simple, disciplined and exemplary life in accordance with Gospel values.

Fr. W.L.A. Don Peter is a true representative of Christ and a good shepherd who could guide and lead the laity. We need priests like Fr. Don Peter if the Church in Sri Lanka is to maintain its spiritual vigour in the modern world.

Ad Multos Annos. (The writer is a former High Court Judge)

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