Churches in Sri Lanka urged to promote real social reforms

(April 14, 2011)
The current situation in Sri Lanka, where people are still on their knees after a 30-year war that ended in 2009, is an invitation to the Church to promote real social reforms, because the country’s reconstruction cannot be done by works of charity alone. The remarks were made during a panel discussion on the “Role and responsibility of the Christians in Social Reform”. It was organised by the Christian Alliance for Social Action held recently at the CARITAS Sri Lanka head office Auditorium in Colombo.“The Church should take others by the hand,” said retired Anglican Bishop Kumara Illangasinghe. “If we really want to change the situation, we must become main actors in much-awaited change,” he added. According to Jesuit Fr Lasantha de Abrew, the Church must actively cooperate with the people and be on the side of the victims. “We are all Christians, and people should not feel Tamil or Sinhalese,” he said. Methodist Pastor Muthiah Selvarajah, said the Church must act as a mediator to protect people’s rights more than promote charity. The government’s agenda at present does not include any political solution. For this reason, all Christian confessions must act as one family,” he added.