Christian Perspectives

Christianity promotes reconciliation between ethnic groups - Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith

The leader of the Catholics in Sri Lanka, had said that the Church has a crucial role to play in helping to bring healing after the country's bloody civil war.

In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith of Colombo, said that, although Catholics were only a minority in the island, they were in a unique position to help promote reconciliation between Sri Lanka's two ethnic groups.

Speaking just over two years after the war ended, the Cardinal stressed how the Church could help to restore trust between the Sinhalese and Tamils, as there were a significant number of Catholics in both communities.

He said: "We must never say we are Sinhalese first and then Christian, we must say that we are Christian first and then Sinhalese.

The same applies to the Tamils, also. They must first be Christians, because as Christians, we had certain principles that we had got to follow.

If we did that sincerely, without taking a kind of partisan attitude to our language, then we could build bridges across the divide."

Amid continued tension between the two ethnic groups, the Cardinal described how religious initiatives could help unify Sri Lankans and gave examples of how both the Sinhalese and Tamil pilgrims visit the shrine of Our Lady of Madhu.

In a total population of 20 million, Christians in Sri Lanka, were eight percent and were spread across both Tamil and Sinhalese-dominated areas of the country. Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, explained how before the war, seminary studies helped to break down the divide as students from both ethnic groups learnt together.

He said: "We had very good friendships across the border. Some of us who studied together, still knew each other and this was not a problem to us, because it was our faith that united us together.

I regretted today that Tamil and Sinhalese seminarians no longer train together as much as before.

Unfortunately, due to this war, the northern diocese had to erect a new seminary for their own students, which was unfortunate because what was necessary was that we unite together." However, he explained that he had collaborated with Bishop Thomas Savundaranayagam of the Jafna Diocese, where the northern seminary was based and was sending seminarians from the Archdiocese of Colombo to study philosophy there. Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith said: "These students were Sinhalese but they were in the North, and studying Tamil. I want them to study both languages (so that they would be fluent in both languages). When they come down to Colombo, they could be agents of reconciliation and peace among our people."

The Cardinal also thanked Aid to the Church in Need for the help it had given to the Church during and since the civil war. This had included help for seminarians, catechesis and other Christian education material, mass stipends and repair of religious buildings damaged in the civil war.

Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith visits New York

Sri Lankans in the tri-state area had a rare opportunity to witness the first visit of the His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith to celebrate the Holy Eucharist with nine co-celebrants at St Rita's Church in Staten Island, New York, USA on June 17, 2011.

His Eminences' message to the community was to reach out to every individual, especially to the affected parties of the conflict. His Eminence stressed the importance of appreciating their contribution to bring true permanent peace to their mother nation.

The popular Sri Lankan Catholic Choir of New York and New Jersey sang praise worship on this historic occasion.

Venerable Bhante Kondanna Thera, Chief Abbot of Staten Island Buddhist Vihara, Dr Palitha Kohona, Permanent Representative and Major General Shavendra Silva, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka to the United Nations also participated at the occasion.

The Sri Lankan Catholic Community hosted His Eminence and his entourage to a reception and fellowship. The event was attended by over 500 Sri Lankans and well-wishers around the tri-state area, and was coordinated by Rev Fr Neville Joe Perera, the Coordinator Sri Lanka Archdiocese for Italy.