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Sri Lanka

Catholic Priests Build Hostel For Buddhist Novices

Updated: August 11, 2008 09:20 AM GMT
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Even though Buddhist militants have occasionally attacked Christian churches in Sri Lanka´s religious heartland, one group of Catholic priests has just built a hostel for Buddhist novices. Salesian priests on July 27 presented the hostel´s keys to the temple´s head monk, Udadeniye Wimalagnana Thero, for his novices at Sri Priyadharshanaramaya Temple in Megodawewa, Anuradhapura district, North Central Province. Megodawewa is 50 kilometers east of Anuradhapura, the ancient Buddhist city in central Sri Lanka. The city is about 200 kilometers north of Colombo. About 10,000 Catholics live among the 1.1 million people of Anuradhapura diocese, made up mostly of agricultural land and thousands of remote villages. Local Salesians, based just west of Anuradhapura city, paid 2 million rupees (about US$20,000) and helped construct the hostel for novices who eventually will become Buddhist monks. The building will initially house 15 novices, but more could be accommodated in the future. Politicians and about 50 Buddhist monks were among the 500 or so people who attended the opening ceremony. One of them, Berty Premalal, former chief minister of North Central Province, underscored the value of good deeds and said he considers himself fortunate to take part in an event he witnessed for the "first time" in his life. "We are grateful to these Catholic priests for their outstanding contribution," the former minister told the gathering. Father Anthony Humer Pinto, Salesian superior in Sri Lanka, told UCA News he had been touched by the Buddhist novices´ plight after his priests told him about them. "The novices were in a difficult condition in a very remote area, with no electricity or transport facilities," the Colombo-based priest said. To help Buddhist novices further their studies, Salesians supplied books and paid five teachers´ salaries for three years. They raised money and built the new eight-room hostel after noticing the state of the small, old hostel. Three priests and some seminarians worked on the building site to cut costs, and Hindu volunteers laid the foundations. "This is one way of extending our fraternal love towards people of other religions," Father Pinto commented. "Converting Buddhists does not interest us, but we are keen to see them living a better life as Buddhists," he said. "This offering is a donation from my congregation, which has just completed 50 years in Sri Lanka." The area´s Salesian priests run vocational centers, a counseling center for people with sexually transmitted diseases, and also provide social help for sex workers, including child prostitutes. During the last two decades, Buddhist extremists in Sri Lanka have attacked and damaged some Christian and evangelical churches. In this diocese, Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Palugasdamana village was torched and its statues burned in 2005. In stark contrast, a show of unity marked the event in Megodawewa, according to a Buddhist monk. "We, the saffron robe and the white cassock, work together against evil in our areas," said Kongodamulle Gnanasiri Thero, chief monk of nearby Angurukaramulle Rajamaha temple. "We have shown we can do marvels by working together," he said. END

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