Tuesday, 13 January 2015 00:03
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THE visit of Pope Francis is finally upon us. It is a moment of great significance not just for the 1.2 million catholic community in Sri Lanka but also all citizens as another opportunity to cement relations between ethnic communities.
The Pope’s visit comes amidst massive changes in Sri Lanka. Not just in terms of politics but also social changes that are slowly taking place. Change can be dangerous and at times even confrontational but it is essential for any nation to move forward.
Pope Francis is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka today for a two-day visit. He will be the first foreign dignitary in Sri Lanka after presidential elections last Thursday ousted former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Rajapaksa invited the Pope last year before controversially calling for snap presidential elections on 20 November, seeking an unprecedented third term in power. He was also accused by members of the Catholic community for using the Pope’s visit to score brownie points during the election campaign. His wife is also referred to as a major supporter of the invitation and in pre-press hand-outs to international media, the hapless Vatican, unaware of the steadfastness of the Sri Lankan voter, had announced President Rajapaksa would greet the Pope.
However, Rajapaksa was unexpectedly beaten by his former Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena, who crossed over to the Opposition. Sirisena took oaths on Friday and has opened fresh hopes for reconciliation among the minority Tamil community by returning to possible power devolution mechanisms as well as side-lining hard-line Buddhist organisations that have recently started targeting Muslims.
Indeed one of the main talking points of the election was ethnic divisions, creating fears it would be used by unscrupulous parties to poach votes. Post-election analysis has also been frowned upon, particularly on social media, as it wrongfully shows stronger support for Sirisena among minority areas whereas in reality the bulk of the votes were attracted from the Sinhala Buddhist majority.
It is the new President who is expected to receive the Pope and rightly so as he represents people who wanted reconciliation, among other things. The Pope’s visit to Madhu and the declaration of Sri Lanka’s first saint are all symbolic and stand for the great need in local society to move forward together.
Thousands of Tamil people, battered by war and struggling to win their rights, will undoubtedly take great heart from the presence of Pope Francis. Seen as a progressive and benevolent Pope with deep understanding of human frailties, he is the best person to bring the message of harmony to a region that has known the cost of its flight. The Pope will also take time to have discussions with other religious leaders at the BMICH on Tuesday evening in yet another effort to bring people together.
Sri Lanka is looking to a new start. Sri Lanka’s Catholics have long managed to hold together when ethnic tensions were tearing the Sinhalese and Tamils apart – it is this message that must now be presented to the rest of the world.
