Pope’s Lanka visit will still go ahead

Monday, 24 November 2014 00:31 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Catholic Church of Sri Lanka says the visit of Pope Francis to Sri Lanka will go ahead as scheduled despite the presidential elections taking place less than a week before his arrival.

Reverend Father Cyril Gamini Fernando, the Media Secretary for the Pope’s visit to Sri Lanka, said that the visit would go ahead as scheduled. Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on 13 January while the presidential election will be held on 8 January. The Catholic Church called for a free and fair presidential election and urged all parties to ensure it is free of violence. Reverend Fernando said the Catholic Church would also like to urge the candidates not to use the name of the Pope during the election campaign. He said that preparations for the Pope’s visit were continuing and all Catholics in Sri Lanka were praying for the visit to be a success. (Colombo Gazette)