Buddhist Monks clash with Catholic Priests in Kotugoda

I just got this information from a couple of friends about some extremist Buddhist monks trying to cause disharmony between Buddhists and Catholics living in Crooswatta, Kotugoda.

The problems seems to have cropped up regarding an extension to the church which commenced construction in Feb 2007. Accordingly the Ja Ela magistrates court had suspended the construction of the church and asked the two parties to come to a settlement. The court had also given permission to conduct Sunday School classes and Mass on Saturday evening. However on Oct 6th just 3 days after the court verdict a police official halted the Mass that was taking place. According to the police the Ja Ela OIC had ordered that the Mass be stopped despite the court order that Mass and Sunday School can be conducted.

I have given below the links to the website of the Archdiocese of Colombo website that gives detailed descriptions regarding this incident.

October 3rd 2007 : Constructions of the Church at Crooswatta, Kotugoda temporarily suspended by Courts

October 7th 2007 : Police interrupts and stops the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist at Crooswatta Church, Kotugoda

 

Christmas Programmes being theatened

Just last week there was a report in The Daily Mirror about letters being sent to schools in Sri Lanka asking them to cancel all their scheduled Christmas programmes. Afterwards I heard that many schools and montessori’s have indeed canceled them.The logic behind this is quite unclear, and some really questionable reasons have been cited for the request to cancel. Some letters are supposed to be citing the welfare of the children involved in the programmes (probably these guys who sent the letters have never taken part in Christmas programmes and are therefore jealous of the children who do so). A few other letters cited the war and is more understandable but if Christmas programmes have to be canceled due to the present situation in the country then the other religious celebrations in Sri Lanka too have to be canceled and not only Christmas programmes. Otherwise it will be totally unfair.

In the recent past churches have been threatened more during Christmas time. Just two years ago letters were sent to churches with a threat saying that an attack will take place unless their midnight services were canceled. Many churches were guarded by the police and other than a few minor incidents, nothing serious took place.

Hopefully the authorities will take the necessary steps and apprehend the culprits behind this move and make sure that nothing of this nature happens during Christmas time or anytime of the year.

 

St. Joseph College refuses admission for a Christian

Yes you read that right! The principal of St. Joseph College Colombo has refused to grant admission for a small boy because he is a christian and attends an Assembly of God Church. Now what is the logic behind that, talk about freedom of religion. No wonder sri lanka has been placed in the “significant list” of violators of religious freedom by the US State Departments annual International Religious Freedom report 2006.St. Joseph is a well respected school in sri lanka and it is unthinkable that this is happening. Did the principal refuse entry because of religion or was he hoping that the parents will give him a large sum of money on a personal basis (often called a bribe) in order to gain entry. Well the parents had nothing of him and walked out when he gave the reason as religion.

I know those people personally and they are a respectable family. The father of the child works in a leading telecommunication company and the mother works in a bank. So for all you christians out there who want to enrol their children at St. Joseph College I would suggest that you look for an alternative.

Is it a policy of St. Joseph College not to enrol Pentecostal Christians to their school? Looks like they have a principal who discriminates on the basis of religion.

 

Dutch Reformed Church Childrens Home attacked

The Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) Childrens Home in Balana (District of Kandy) was attacked on August 6th 2006 by a mob who planted a Buddhist flag on the roof.House Parents were threatened with death. This attack came after posters were put up, demanding that the church must cease renovation work on the building. The church was carrying out repairs to reopen the Home for Orphans. A mob of about 200 people with 3 Buddhist M0nks entered the premises by force and assaulted the workers.

Stones were thrown at the home, breaking roofing tiles. The rainwater gutters were broken and pulled down. A Buddhist flag was hoisted on the roof. The fence around the property was completely destroyed. This was the third time that the fence was broken.

In addition to the damage caused to the property, the DRC ministry workers and the house parents who were residing at the premises were threatened. The mob threatened the house parents that if they do not leave the premises, they will be burned alive. On Sunday night, the huse parents left the Children’s home in fear.

A Police entry was made. We would like to request all of you out there to pray for this situation.

The above was a report was taken off the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka’s Advocacy Desk which was released on Aug 10th 2006. We Sri Lankans should make sure that extremists forces like the above do not attack churches and disturb whatever peace we have left. Churches have been facing attacks over the years but recently the frequency of attacks have peaked.