By

Upul Joseph Fernando

The visit of Pope Francis to Sri Lanka still hangs in the balance. This uncertainty is also apparent in a letter sent to the President by Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith.

The Cardinal had inquired from the President to inform him whether the Pope should arrive or not, in case a Presidential Election is called during that period. Mahinda went to Vatican to meet the Pope in the company of the Cardinal. Prior to that visit, Mahinda had decided to hold an election.

However, Mahinda’s visit to Vatican raised eyebrows because whenever a Pope visits another country, there is no tradition that the Head of State of that respective country making a prior visit to Vatican to extend an official invitation. Many are of the view that Mahinda followed a tradition. But the reality is otherwise.

The reality is that Mahinda went to Vatican to inform the Pope of his decision to hold an election and convey the time schedule. He also meant to ensure that the Pope would go ahead with his visit despite an election being held during that period. From the Opposition, he invited John Amaratunga to accompany him, to impress the Pope that the Opposition had no objection to the Pope’s visit during the period of an election. Though UNP’s Rosy Senanayake too was invited she had turned it down, UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said. This demonstrates that John Amaratunga had been used as a tool to showcase that the government and opposition are in agreement over the Pope’s visit.

Strategy

Mahinda would have introduced John as the Acting Leader of the Opposition. Also, Mahinda may have taken Chief Justice Mohan Peiris to the Vatican to impress upon the Pope that he (Mahinda) had bravely appointed a non-Buddhist to the post of Chief Justice. The Chief Justice is also a member of the Church Finance Committee that organizes the visit of the Pope. All these facts lead to the assumption that Mahinda went to Vatican having taken the decision to hold a Presidential Election and to convey it to the Pope and to convince the Pope to go ahead with the proposed visit to Sri Lanka. Reports from Rome state that Mahinda’s delegation had urged the Pope not to name the Mass that would be conducted by the Pope at Madhu Church, Mannar as a memorial service in remembrance of those killed during the war. Earlier, the Mannar Bishop had requested Vatican to conduct that memorial Mass at Nandikadal.

When Mahinda had objected to that move, the Cardinal had intervened to have it conducted at the Madhu Church. Mahinda’s Government wants that memorial mass themed as a mass to mark the Pope’s visit and not to those who were killed during the war. However, the Vatican authorities are of the view that the Holy Mass should be conducted in remembrance of all who died during the war and that the Colombo Government should not make it an issue.

Previous visits

History records that Sri Lanka had been visited by two Popes in the past. The first to visit was Pope Paul V1 in 1970 after Sirima Bandaranaike won the elections and installed her government. However, Pope Paul VI decided to visit Colombo during the administration of UNP Prime Minister, Dudley Senanayake. The Pope was due to visit the country for one day. Though he decided to visit Sri Lanka during Dudley’s time, he was welcomed at the Katunayake Airport not by Dudley or the UNP but by Mrs. Bandaranaike and her coalition government. The second visit by a Pope was in 1995. That was by Pope John Paul II.

He too decided to visit Sri Lanka during the UNP administration. However, when he arrived he was received by President Chandrika Kumaratunga and her Government. The reason was that two months before the Pope arrived, a presidential poll was held and Chandrika became the President with a new government in office. Analyzing the past visits of earlier Popes, both had arrived when new leaders and new governments had assumed office. Now, before the third Pope visits the country, Mahinda has decided to go for a Presidential Election. Like what happened in 1970 and 1995, will there be a new President in office?

Courtesy:Ceylon Today