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A Visionary with a Mission and a Missionary with a Vision
The 25th Death Anniversary of His Lordship Bishop Waliwitavidanelage Don Sylvester
‘If there are wise or learned persons among you, let them show it by their good lives, with humility and wisdom’. (James 3:13-18)
These words describe well how late Bishop Sylvester was known and remembered in Galle and beyond. He was a man of kindness, confident in his vision and generosity, an inspirer of hope and generosity in others.
Born on November 26. 1927 in Niripola- Hanwella, he had his early education at St Mary’s School, Niripola, St John Bosco’s College, Kaluaggala and then at St Joseph’s College, Colombo. Having had his priestly training; he was ordained a priest on March 23, 1956 and was appointed the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Colombo before becoming the fourth Bishop of Galle on December 11, 1982. Having served the diocese for a period well over 10 years, he was called to eternal rest on November 9,1995. His 25th death anniversary falls on Nov. 9 and the memories of the person and his missionary zeal is prevalent to this day. Starting his life as a cooperative inspector and then responding to the call of God, he dedicated whole of life without reservation to the mission he willingly embraced.
I remember in the twilight of an evening, in December 1990, His Lordship Bishop Sylvester called me to his office of the Bishop’s House in Galle, and asked me to get ready to go for a service at the infamous Boossa Detention Camp (near Galle) where the young insurgents were detained after the insurrection of 1988/89. These detainees were kept in arbitrary detention pending the hearing of their cases for taking up arms and going against the political establishment of the time. Most of the detentions were extra-judicial and arbitrary where the detainees themselves found it lucky to be alive after going through arbitrary killing by the state. On that day there were around 700 of them crammed into a small hall where Bishop celebrated the Eucharist. In his homily, he preached on the life of Jesus who was himself a revolutionary and emphasized the importance of change by non- violent means and brought up the example of Mahathma Gandhi as a model of change through non -violent means.
After the Eucharist, we had a cup of tea with the Brigadier in charge of the detention camp and in the brief discussion with him, Bishop Sylvester discussed at length the programme for the rehabilitation and release of the detainees into society. Bishop Sylvester was very sombre on our way back and wanted me to develop a programme to visit the camps every weekend. Permission was granted to us to visit not only the youth of the Boossa camp but also thousands of youth in the open air prison close in Koggala. At every opportunity, Bishop Sylvester was available to travel to both Boossa and Koggala and encouraged me all the time to provide relief to the youth. This was one of many examples of how passionate he was to care for the welfare of the youth of the day. He wanted revolution, but non -violently and in a way that witnessed Christian charity through education and training and certainly not violent means. That pastoral example still moves and inspires me.
While serving as a priest of the Archdiocese of Colombo, his missionary endeavour was well exhibited in his untiring efforts shown in and around Pannipitiya, Maharagama, Athurugiriya and Battaramulla in the suburbs of Colombo creating evangelizing communities and building places of worship to God for the newly established communities of these suburbs. He founded Christ the King College in Pannipitiya that has produced great men and women in many fields of excellence in Sri Lanka. His mission to the marginalized communities at Sedawatta in Grandpass is remembered with great appreciation to date by those living in the area.
Bishop Sylvester was a graduate in Pastoral Theology and has a diploma in Religious Education from the ‘Lumen Vitae Institute’ in Belgium. He held the post of National Director for Catechetical mission in Sri Lanka for several years. He pioneered the use of audio-visual aids for religious education in Sri Lanka and oversaw the distribution of visual aids to almost all the churches around the country at a time when communication aids were rare.
In humility and wisdom Bishop Sylvester united his flock with peoples of other faiths with ecumenical zeal with the exercise of Christian charity and understanding. The full record of his good deeds is known to God, but what we do know can fill us with gratitude and hope.
He touched the lives of so many people from many different walks of life. Whoever you were – whatever demographic you fitted into – he cared for you. The diocese of Galle then had 137 mission centres – most of them in estates. The estate apostolate was in the fore front of his missionary endeavour. He dedicated considerable time visiting the people of the estates both in Southern and Sabaragamuwa provinces and was particularly fond of visiting Deniyaya with its 27 estates, Ratnapura with some 18 estates, Deraniyagala, Malimboda, Rakwana and Kahawatta – Balangoda parishes and their estate churches. During his tenure as the Bishop of Galle, he built many chapels in the estates, convents, nursery schools and we all have the memories of the warmth, care and compassion we encountered in this man of God. His desire and unwavering efforts to build a bridge across the river at Hiniduma Calvary Shrine to enable easy passage to pilgrims for the way of the cross showed a sheer dedication to a purpose.
We have a tangible example of his work in community building and establishing SIOLL (Secular Institute of Our Lady of Lanka) in Battaramulla. SIOLL Institute was inspired by him to encourage lay participation in ecclesiastical work. He undertook the ambitious project to establish a press at SIOLL, at a time when information technology and large scale printing was rare. He undertook the printing of the Sinhala Bible and was proud to see this work completed. He meditated upon each and every text of the Bible in order to produce an easily understandable and vivid translation for the Sinhala- Tamil faithful. His translation of the Greek word ‘LOGOS’ using the Sinhala word ‘Wakyano’ as its Sinhala equivalent in the Bible was a stroke of genius.
I remember when I visited him in hospital in Colombo immediately prior to his untimely death. Bishop Raymond Wickramasinghe was at his bedside caring for him. He was aware of his surroundings and visitors and could easily converse about life. I will always be very grateful that my last visit to see him lying in a hospital bed was as easy, comforting and normal as ever. He asked about the parish, my apostolate and studies; such was the concern he had for those under his ecclesiastical care. But perhaps most importantly for us today – as our source of true hope and real consolation – are not the memories we have of Bishop Sylvester as a Bishop and priest but as a man and human being who centred his life in word and action celebrating the Eucharist. The great human quality of compassion and understanding was always a part of him even in the midst of resistance from his own. That was Bishop Sylvester, the man of God.
Today, I want to express our collective thanks to God and the Catholic Church of Sri Lanka for many graces, especially the grace and joy of knowing Bishop Sylvester. We are ever so grateful to him for the encouragement and inspiration that he gave to many people including me as our Bishop and we kneel before his grave in the Cathedral of Galle with hearts pouring love and gratitude. In the words of the Psalmist, we thank God for the ‘wonder of his being, for all he meant and means to those he loved and those who love him’. Today, however you may have known him, we remember him with our love and prayers to the very edges of the next life, handing him gently into the eternal, merciful, all encompassing, love of God himself.
Rev. Fr Michael Rajendren & Sudharman Perera
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There’s an ill more dangerous and pervasive than the Coronavirus that’s currently sweeping Sri Lanka. That is the fear to express one’s convictions. Across the public sector of the country in particular many persons holding high office are stringently regulating and controlling the voices of their consciences and this bodes ill for all and the country.
The corrupting impact of fear was discussed in this column a couple of weeks ago when dealing with the military coup in Myanmar. It stands to the enduring credit of ousted Myanmarese Head of Government Aung San Suu Kyi that she, perhaps for the first time in the history of modern political thought, singled out fear, and not power, as the principal cause of corruption within the individual; powerful or otherwise.
To be sure, power corrupts but the corrupting impact of fear is graver and more devastating. For instance, the fear in a person holding ministerial office or in a senior public sector official, that he would lose position and power as a result of speaking out his convictions and sincere beliefs on matters of the first importance, would lead to a country’s ills going unaddressed and uncorrected.
Besides, the individual concerned would be devaluing himself in the eyes of all irrevocably and revealing himself to be a person who would be willing to compromise his moral integrity for petty worldly gain or a ‘mess of pottage’. This happens all the while in Lankan public life. Some of those who have wielded and are wielding immense power in Sri Lanka leave very much to be desired from these standards.
It could be said that fear has prevented Sri Lanka from growing in every vital respect over the decades and has earned for itself the notoriety of being a directionless country.
All these ills and more are contained in the current controversy in Sri Lanka over the disposal of the bodies of Covid victims, for example. The Sri Lankan polity has no choice but to abide by scientific advice on this question. Since authorities of the standing of even the WHO have declared that the burial of the bodies of those dying of Covid could not prove to be injurious to the wider public, the Sri Lankan health authorities could go ahead and sanction the burying of the bodies concerned. What’s preventing the local authorities from taking this course since they claim to be on the side of science? Who or what are they fearing? This is the issue that’s crying out to be probed and answered.
Considering the need for absolute truthfulness and honesty on the part of all relevant persons and quarters in matters such as these, the latter have no choice but to resign from their positions if they are prevented from following the dictates of their consciences. If they are firmly convinced that burials could bring no harm, they are obliged to take up the position that burials should be allowed.
If any ‘higher authority’ is preventing them from allowing burials, our ministers and officials are conscience-bound to renounce their positions in protest, rather than behave compromisingly and engage in ‘double think’ and ‘double talk’. By adopting the latter course they are helping none but keeping the country in a state of chronic uncertainty, which is a handy recipe for social instabiliy and division.
In the Sri Lankan context, the failure on the part of the quarters that matter to follow scientific advice on the burials question could result in the aggravation of Islamophobia, or hatred of the practitioners of Islam, in the country. Sri Lanka could do without this latter phobia and hatred on account of its implications for national stability and development. The 30 year war against separatist forces was all about the prevention by military means of ‘nation-breaking’. The disastrous results for Sri Lanka from this war are continuing to weigh it down and are part of the international offensive against Sri Lanka in the UNHCR.
However, Islamophobia is an almost world wide phenomenon. It was greatly strengthened during Donald Trump’s presidential tenure in the US. While in office Trump resorted to the divisive ruling strategy of quite a few populist authoritarian rulers of the South. Essentially, the manoeuvre is to divide and rule by pandering to the racial prejudices of majority communities.
It has happened continually in Sri Lanka. In the initial post-independence years and for several decades after, it was a case of some populist politicians of the South whipping-up anti-Tamil sentiments. Some Tamil politicians did likewise in respect of the majority community. No doubt, both such quarters have done Sri Lanka immeasurable harm. By failing to follow scientific advice on the burial question and by not doing what is right, Sri Lanka’s current authorities are opening themselves to the charge that they are pandering to religious extremists among the majority community.
The murderous, destructive course of action adopted by some extremist sections among Muslim communities world wide, including of course Sri Lanka, has not earned the condemnation it deserves from moderate Muslims who make-up the preponderant majority in the Muslim community. It is up to moderate opinion in the latter collectivity to come out more strongly and persuasively against religious extremists in their midst. It will prove to have a cementing and unifying impact among communities.
It is not sufficiently appreciated by governments in the global South in particular that by voicing for religious and racial unity and by working consistently towards it, they would be strengthening democratic development, which is an essential condition for a country’s growth in all senses.
A ‘divided house’ is doomed to fall; this is the lesson of history. ‘National security’ cannot be had without human security and peaceful living among communities is central to the latter. There cannot be any ‘double talk’ or ‘politically correct’ opinions on this question. Truth and falsehood are the only valid categories of thought and speech.
Those in authority everywhere claiming to be democratic need to adopt a scientific outlook on this issue as well. Studies conducted on plural societies in South Asia, for example, reveal that the promotion of friendly, cordial ties among communities invariably brings about healing among estranged groups and produces social peace. This is the truth that is waiting to be acted upon.
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By Sanjeewa Jayaweera
It was on 3rd January 1972 that our family arrived in Karachi from Moscow. Our departure from Moscow had been delayed for a few weeks due to the military confrontation between Pakistan and India. It ended on 16th December 1971. After that, international flights were not permitted for some time.
The contrast between Moscow and Karachi was unbelievable. First and foremost, Moscow’s temperature was near minus 40 degrees centigrade, while in Karachi, it was sunny and a warm 28 degrees centigrade. However, what struck us most was the extreme warmth with which the airport authorities greeted our family. As my father was a diplomat, we were quickly ushered to the airport’s VIP Lounge. We were in transit on our way to Rawalpindi, the airport serving the capital of Islamabad.
We quickly realized that the word “we are from Sri Lanka” opened all doors just as saying “open sesame” gained entry to Aladdin’s cave! The broad smile, extreme courtesy, and genuine warmth we received from the Pakistani people were unbelievable.
This was all to do with Mrs Sirima Bandaranaike’s decision to allow Pakistani aircraft to land in Colombo to refuel on the way to Dhaka in East Pakistan during the military confrontation between Pakistan and India. It was a brave decision by Mrs Bandaranaike (Mrs B), and the successive governments and Sri Lanka people are still enjoying the fruits of it. Pakistan has been a steadfast and loyal supporter of our country. They have come to our assistance time and again in times of great need when many have turned their back on us. They have indeed been an “all-weather” friend of our country.
Getting back to 1972, I was an early beneficiary of Pakistani people’s love for Sri Lankans. I failed the entrance exam to gain entry to the only English medium school in Islamabad! However, when I met the Principal, along with my father, he said, “Sanjeewa, although you failed the entrance exam, I will this time make an exception as Sri Lankans are our dear friends.” After that, the joke around the family dinner table was that I owed my education in Pakistan to Mrs B!
At school, my brother and I were extended a warm welcome and always greeted “our good friends from Sri Lanka.” I felt when playing cricket for our college; our runs were cheered more loudly than of others.
One particular incident that I remember well was when the Embassy received a telex from the Foreign inistry. It requested that our High Commissioner seek an immediate meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr Zulifikar Ali Bhutto (ZB), and convey a message from Mrs B. The message requested that an urgent shipment of rice be dispatched to Sri Lanka as there would be an imminent rice shortage. As the Ambassador was not in the station, the responsibility devolved on my father.
It usually takes about a week or more to get an audience with the Prime Minister (PM) of a foreign country due to their busy schedule. However, given the urgency, my father spoke to the Foreign Ministry’s Permanent Sectary, who fortunately was our neighbour and sought an urgent appointment. My father received a call from the PM’s secretary around 10 P.M asking him to come over to the PM’s residence. My father met ZB around midnight. ZB was about to retire to bed and, as such, was in his pyjamas and gown enjoying a cigar! He had greeted my father and had asked, “Mr Jayaweera, what can we do for great friend Madam Bandaranaike?. My father conveyed the message from Colombo and quietly mentioned that there would be riots in the country if there is no rice!
ZB had immediately got the Food Commissioner of Pakistan on the line and said, “I want a shipload of rice to be in Colombo within the next 72 hours!” The Food Commissioner reverted within a few minutes, saying that nothing was available and the last export shipment had left the port only a few hours ago to another country. ZB had instructed to turn the ship around and send it to Colombo. This despite protests from the Food Commissioner about terms and conditions of the Letter of Credit prohibiting non-delivery. Sri Lanka got its delivery of rice!
The next was the visit of Mrs B to Pakistan. On arrival in Rawalpindi airport, she was given a hero’s welcome, which Pakistan had previously only offered to President Gaddafi of Libya, who financially backed Pakistan with his oil money. That day, I missed school and accompanied my parents to the airport. On our way, we witnessed thousands of people had gathered by the roadside to welcome Mrs B.
When we walked to the airport’s tarmac, thousands of people were standing in temporary stands waving Sri Lanka and Pakistan flags and chanting “Sri Lanka Pakistan Zindabad.” The noise emanating from the crowd was as loud and passionate as the cheering that the Pakistani cricket team received during a test match. It was electric!
I believe she was only the second head of state given the privilege of addressing both assemblies of Parliament. The other being Gaddafi. There was genuine affection from Mrs B amongst the people of Pakistan.
I always remember the indefatigable efforts of Mr Abdul Haffez Kardar, a cabinet minister and the President of the Pakistan Cricket Board. From around 1973 onwards, he passionately championed Sri Lanka’s cause to be admitted as a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and granted test status. Every year, he would propose at the ICC’s annual meeting, but England and Australia’s veto kept us out until 1981.
I always felt that our Cricket Board made a mistake by not inviting Pakistan to play our inaugural test match. We should have appreciated Mr Kardar and Pakistan’s efforts. In 1974 the Pakistan board invited our team for a tour involving three test matches and a few first-class games. Most of those who played in our first test match was part of that tour, and no doubt gained significant exposure playing against a highly talented Pakistani team.
Several Pakistani greats were part of the Pakistan and India team that played a match soon after the Central Bank bomb in Colombo to prove that it was safe to play cricket in Colombo. It was a magnificent gesture by both Pakistan and India. Our greatest cricket triumph was in Pakistan when we won the World Cup in 1996. I am sure the players and those who watched the match on TV will remember the passionate support our team received that night from the Pakistani crowd. It was like playing at home!
I also recall reading about how the Pakistani government air freighted several Multi Barrell artillery guns and ammunition to Sri Lanka when the A rmy camp in Jaffna was under severe threat from the LTTE. This was even more important than the shipload of rice that ZB sent. This was crucial as most other countries refused to sell arms to our country during the war.
Time and again, Pakistan has steadfastly supported our country’s cause at the UNHCR. No doubt this year, too, their diplomats will work tirelessly to assist our country.
We extend a warm welcome to Mr Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan. He is a truly inspirational individual who was undoubtedly an excellent cricketer. Since retirement from cricket, he has decided to get involved in politics, and after several years of patiently building up his support base, he won the last parliamentary elections. I hope that just as much as he galvanized Sri Lankan cricketers, his political journey would act as a catalyst for people like Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene to get involved in politics. Cricket has been called a “gentleman’s game.” Whilst politics is far from it!.
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Believe me, seeing certain videos, on social media, depicting action, on the dance floor, at some of these entertainment venues, got me wondering whether this Coronavirus pandemic is REAL!
To those having a good time, at these particular venues, and, I guess, the management, as well, what the world is experiencing now doesn’t seem to be their concerned.
Obviously, such irresponsible behaviour could create more problems for those who are battling to halt the spread of Covid-19, and the new viriant of Covid, in our part of the world.
The videos, on display, on social media, show certain venues, packed to capacity – with hardly anyone wearing a mask, and social distancing…only a dream..
How can one think of social distancing while gyrating, on a dance floor, that is over crowded!
If this trend continues, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Coronavirus makes its presence felt…at such venues.
And, then, what happens to the entertainment scene, and those involved in this field, especially the musicians? No work, whatsoever!
Lots of countries have closed nightclubs, and venues, where people gather, in order to curtail the spread of this deadly virus that has already claimed the lives of thousands.
Thailand did it and the country is still having lots of restrictions, where entertainment is concerned, and that is probably the reason why Thailand has been able to control the spread of the Coronavirus.
With a population of over 69 million, they have had (so far), a little over 25,000 cases, and 83 deaths, while we, with a population of around 21 million, have over 80,000 cases, and more than 450 deaths.
I’m not saying we should do away with entertainment – totally – but we need to follow a format, connected with the ‘new normal,’ where masks and social distancing are mandatory requirements at these venues. And, dancing, I believe, should be banned, at least temporarily, as one can’t maintain the required social distance, while on the dance floor, especially after drinks.
Police spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana keeps emphasising, on TV, radio, and in the newspapers, the need to adhere to the health regulations, now in force, and that those who fail to do so would be penalised.
He has also stated that plainclothes officers would move around to apprehend such offenders.
Perhaps, he should instruct his officers to pay surprise visits to some of these entertainment venues.
He would certainly have more than a bus load of offenders to be whisked off for PCR/Rapid Antigen tests!
I need to quote what Dr. H.T. Wickremasinghe said in his article, published in The Island of Tuesday, February 16th, 2021:
“…let me conclude, while emphasising the need to continue our general public health measures, such as wearing masks, social distancing, and avoiding crowded gatherings, to reduce the risk of contact with an infected person.
“There is no science to beat common sense.”
But…do some of our folks have this thing called COMMON SENSE!
