(Oct.12,2010) Christian writers in Sri Lanka have contributed to uniting society
by helping people appreciate each other’s culture, said the island-nation’s prime
minister D.M. Jayaratne. “They opened up avenues for people to find spirituality needed
for coexistence, which we need so much today,” he said during the awards ceremony
for the 2nd National Christian Literary Festival. The awards were presented during
the Catholic Cultural Day event organized by the Department of Christian Affairs,
Religious Affairs Ministry, on October 8 at St. Joseph’s College in Colombo. Also
present were Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, his predecessor retired Archbishop
Oswald Gomis and Archbishop Joseph Spiteri, apostolic nuncio to Sri Lanka. Jayaratne
said “This Catholic Cultural Day has brought together people from different cultures
and ethnic communities who speak different languages. This is what we long to see
in Sri Lanka,” the prime minister stressed. The six Christian artists who received
awards for their lifetime contribution to literature and music were Archbishop Emeritus
Oswald Gomis for Sinhala literature, Oblate Father Michael Silva for Sinhala music,
Francis De Almeida for English music, Sebastian Jesudas for Tamil literature and
Maduthinpillai Jesuthasan for Tamil music. Manel Abeyratne was cited for English literature. In
addition to the awards presentation for Christian writers, about 65 school students
received awards for singing, essay-writing and speaking competitions in Sinhalese,
Tamil and English. Archbishop Ranjith said “We need to identify children’s talents
and encourage them to find spirituality in culture. I am happy to see children of
different dialects gather in the competition. The Catholic Church has always taken
the lead in such national events,” Archbishop Ranjith added.