Tamil paper to slow flow to evangelical churches

(Sept.14,2010) In Sri Lanka, a new Tamil-language newspaper will help slow the flow of Catholics to evangelical churches, according to the paper’s editor. Colombo Archdiocese’s new Tamil-language Catholic newspaper, “Gnana Oli”, Tamil for “Light of Wisdom”, is now on sale in the Sinhala-majority dioceses of Sri Lanka’s south.
“Language is one of the reasons people leave to join evangelical churches,” said Father Manokumaran Nagaratnam. Several Tamil priests had previously suggested a Tamil-language paper but “Light of Wisdom” was the idea of Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, said Fr. Nagaratnam. “It is important for the Tamil community, to know about church activities, as well as church teachings,” he added. Both the Tamil and Sinhalese communities in the archdiocese have welcomed the paper, he said. Carmelite nun, Sister Mary Niranjali told ucanews. that for many years Tamil Catholics, who do not understand Sinhala or English, had no way or finding out Church news, so the newspaper would be a great help to them.
The Tamil population of Colombo and its suburbs, has now grown to nearly 30 per cent, as a result of the country’s long civil war. The new Tamil-language newspaper contains news, features, and messages from the bishops, as well as a children’s page. The newspaper, a monthly, was launched on Sept. 5.