By
Shamindra Ferdinando　

The Catholic Church yesterday strongly denied Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga’s claim that Pope Francis’s visit to Sri Lanka wouldn’t take place in January as scheduled.

Spokesman for the Church Information and Media Secretariat, Rev. Father Cyril Gamini Fernando told The Island that Gampaha District MP Amaratunga had declared at a public rally at Wattala on Sunday that the visit wouldn’t take place.

The spokesman reiterated that Pope Francis would arrive in Sri Lanka on January 13.

“We request MP Amaratunga to act responsibly and not to make unsubstantiated statements with a view to deceive the public. We also request MP Amaratunga not to mislead the people,” Rev Father Fernando said.

The spokesman urged the Catholic community not to be deceived by lies propagated by various people.

MP Amaratunga accompanied President Mahinda Rajapaksa when the latter visited Vatican recently to reassure Pope Francis of Sri Lanka’s readiness to welcome him.

The veteran UNPer urged the government on several occasions in parliament to put off the Pope’s visit by several weeks or months. The MP asserted that post-poll violence could cause an environment not conducive for the Holy Father’s visit.

Rev. Father Fernando urged political parties contesting the January 8, 2015presidential election not to exploit the Pope’s visit to the advantage of their respective campaigns. The priest requested political parties to remove posters and cut-outs displayed in various parts of the country.

The church reiterated its call for immediate removal of propaganda material as political parties had ignored previous pleas not to use the Pope’s visit in support of their polls campaign.

Courtesy:The Island