Sri Lankans unable to join Asian Youth Day in Indonesia ‎

Young Catholics from Sri Lanka will not be able to participate in next week’s Asian Youth Day celebrations in Indonesia due to financial strains.  Father Malcolm Perera, National Chaplain for Catholic Youth Federation said on Thursday that several dioceses have informed him they were unable to send delegations as they could not cover the cost. 

Over 2000 young people from 21 Asian countries are expected to attend the Aug. 2-6 celebration in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, which has as its theme, "Joyful Asian Youth Living the Gospel in Multicultural Asia."  But before gathering in Yogyakarta, participants will first spend “Days in Dioceses” (DID) in 11 of Indonesia’s 37 dioceses, July 30-August 2.   

"Sri Lanka has not been able to send young people to Asian church events for several years," said Father Perera who was appointed to the post recently.  "We will not attend this time but we will strive to be able to do so the next time," he added.  (Source: UCAN)