We wish our readers a blessed and THE CATHOLIC WEEKLY OF SRI LANKA “REGISTERED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF POSTS OF SRI LANKA” UNDER NO. QD /74/NEWS/2020 joyful Christmas ! Sunday December 20, 2020 Vol 151 No 43 16 Pages Rs: 50.00 Registered as a newspaper CHRISTMAS: A HOPE-FILLED CELEBRATION Christmas is the commemoration of from all cultural change" (Fratelli Tutti the Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem which 213). He reiterates that the Wellspring is God's entry into human history. of human dignity and fraternity is in Christmas invites us to believe in Jesus the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It gives way and come to experience life in His to the primacy given to relationships, name. (John 20:30-31). to the universal communion with the entire human family. He stresses that This year we commemorate the Birth it is the vocation of all of us. Christmas of Jesus in the midst of the COVID-19 celebrated amidst this pandemic invites Pandemic. After the tragic events of all of us to respect always the dignity Easter Sunday all men and women of of all, as the Holy Father underlines, it goodwill still await justice. Let us be is not something inserted or imagined attentive to the God of communion (Fratelli Tutti 277). who speaks to us in and through the events of our world as well. Therefore, in keeping with our vocation, The commemoration of the Birth of let us lift up our hearts to God in Jesus proclaims to us the love of God fervent prayer for all those who suffer, (John 3:16) and the dignity of the the poor and all our children. Mindful human condition. It is also the family of those who are less privileged, let of our children and of the Poor. Despite the seemingly hopeless situation possible. In keeping with our primary us share our bene�its with as many as confronting us due to the COVID- obligation, let us be united in very 19, Christmas gives us hope as the devout and fervent prayer with all Original Christmas. His Holiness Pope Francis in his latest encyclical teaches justice. who are af�licted and those who await that "every human being possesses We wish all our Faithful, our fellow an inalienable dignity is a truth that citizens and all men and women of corresponds to human nature apart goodwill a Blessed Christmas. by Mercilline Heenkenda ✠ Rt. Rev. Dr. J. Winston S. Fernando, SSS ✠ Rt. Rev. Dr. J. D. Anthony Jayakody Bishop of Badulla Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo Pope Francis proclaims President Secretary General Catholic Bishops' Conference in Sri Lanka. Catholic Bishops' Conference in Sri Lanka. “Year of St. Joseph” ith the Apostolic Letter Anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s “Patris corde” (“With a declaration of St. Joseph as Patron of CBCSL Statement on WFather’s Heart”), Pope the Universal Church. To celebrate Francis recalls the 150th Anniversary the anniversary, Pope Francis has Easter Sunday attack - 2019 of the declaration of Saint Joseph as proclaimed a special “Year of St The Catholic Bishops' Conference in Sri so that the appropriate legal action could Patron of the Universal Church. To Joseph,” beginning on the Solemnity of Lanka in its recently concluded plena- be taken without delay against those mark the occasion, the Holy Father has the Immaculate Conception 2020 and ry session focused its attention on the responsible for this dastardly attack proclaimed a “Year of Saint Joseph” extending to the same feast in 2021. Easter Sunday attack which took away against humanity. from, 8 December, 2020 to 8 December, more than 250 innocent lives and left This is absolutely necessary as a mat- 2021. Church grants plenary indulgence several others maimed for life and many ter of Justice to all those who lost their In a new Apostolic Letter entitled for the year of St. Joseph others seriously injured. It was noted lives and to many others whose future Patris corde (With a Father’s Heart), The Holy Father wrote Patris corde that 20 months have elapsed since the has been destroyed due to injuries both Pope Francis describes Saint Joseph as against the backdrop of the Covid-19 attack, and still those responsible and physical and psychological, incurred by a beloved father, a tender and loving pandemic, which, he says, has helped those who masterminded it have not yet the brutal attack. The perpetrators have father, an obedient father, an accepting us see more clearly the importance been brought before the law. father; a father who is creatively of “ordinary” people who, though to be brought before the law also consid- courageous, a working father, a father far from the limelight, exercise pa- We are made to understand through the ering the security of the country and the in the shadows. tience and offer hope every day. In media, that vital information has been safety of the precious lives of people ir- The Letter marks the 150th this, they resemble Saint Joseph, already gathered. It is time that the in- respective of nationality or creed. If the vestigations be brought to a conclusion ➢ CONTD ON PG. 2 ➢ CONTD ON PG. 2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. (Luke 2:1) 2 Messenger Christmas Issue December 20, 2020 Contd. from Pg. 1 the law enforcing authorities and of every responsible CBCSL Statement on Easter... person to consider the security of the country. Sri Lanka Notice is a country with such a precious cultural heritage. It criminals and those aiding and abetting are allowed to is our duty to protect our country, our culture and our go unpunished, even worse dastardly attacks against people and ensure peace unity and prosperity for the Messenger Catholics and peoples of other faiths and foreigners in future generations. the future would be inevitable. There is also fear and reopens anxiety in the minds and hearts of people about pos- on January 4th sible future attacks unless justice is meted out speedily to perpetrators of such heinous crimes. The Catholic Press will be closed for Christmas It is our earnest appeal that petty differences, par- � Rt. Rev. Dr. J. Winston S. � Rt. Rev. Dr. J. D. Anthony and New Year from December 21st. The Press will ty politics, and vested interests of any kind should not Fernando, SSS Jayakody reopen on January 4th. Our Next issue will be out Bishop of Badulla Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo deter the impending judicial inquiry for the sake of the on January 10th. future of the country. On the contrary it should be the President Secretary General Catholic Bishops' aspiration of the government and its judicial processes, Catholic Bishops' Conference in Sri Lanka. Conference in Sri Lanka. Coordinator to the Christian Contd. from Pg. 1 Pope Francis... Joseph continues to protect.” From St. Joseph, writes Religious Affairs Minister Popeǡ Francis, “we ϐ must learn… to love Ǯ the ǯ Church and “the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and the poor” (5). Rev. Fr. Xystus Nicholas Fernando hidden presence,” who nonetheless played “an Kurukulasuriya has been appointed incomparable role in the history of salvation.” A father who teaches the value, dignity as the Coordinator to the Minister and joy of work at the Department of Christian A beloved, tender, obedient father “A carpenter who earned an honest living to provide Religious Affairs. He assumed duties Saint Joseph, in fact, “concretely expressed his for his family,” St. Joseph also teaches us “the value, the on December 9th. Messenger wishes fatherhood” by making an offering of himself in love dignity and the joy of what it means to eat bread that him success in his new appointment. “a love placed at the service of the Messiah who was is the fruit of one’s own labour.” This aspect of Joseph’s growing to maturity in his home,” writes Pope Francis, character provides Pope Francis with the opportunity quoting his predecessor St. Paul VI. to launch an appeal in favour of work, which has We congratulate... And because of his role at “the crossroads between become “a burning social issue” even in countries with the Old and New Testament,” St. Joseph “has always a certain level of well-being. “There is a renewed need Rev. Fr. Sylvester Ranasinghe – Doctor of been venerated as a father by the Christian people” Ministry (PC, 1). In him, “Jesus saw the tender love of God,” the which Saint Joseph is an exemplary patron,” the Pope From the Fordham University, the Jesuit one that helps us accept our weakness, because “it is writes. ϐ ǡ University of New York, USA through” and despite “our fears, our frailties, and our Work, he says, “is a means of participating in weakness” that most divine designs are realized. “Only the work of salvation, an opportunity to hasten the tender love will save us from the snares of the accuser,” coming of the Kingdom, to develop our talents and Rev. Fr. Christo Viraj Fernando – Doctorate emphasizes the Pontiff, and it is by encountering God’s abilities, and to put them at the service of society and in Canon Law mercy especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation that fraternal communion.” Those who work, he explains, From the Faculty of Canon Law, St. Pius X we “experience His truth and tenderness,” – because “we “are cooperating with God Himself, and in some way University, Venice, Italy. know that God’s truth does not condemn us, but instead become creators of the world around us.” Pope Francis welcomes, embraces sustains and forgives us” (2).