The Catholic charity Aid to Church in Need has announced 465,000 Euros in aid to the priests and the religious in Sri Lanka to continue their essential ministry during the crisis.
Priests will receive Mass stipends and catechists and the religious carrying out essential pastoral activities in Sri Lanka will receive subsistence aid.
Due to gross mismanagement of the economy and widespread corruption, the debt-ridden Asian country faces crippling fuel, food, and medicine shortages, affecting the livelihoods and basic needs of the people.
ACN was told by Bishop Valence Mendis of Kandy that the Church is suffering financially, and finding it difficult to relieve the suffering of those who turn to the Church for help due to the crisis.
Bishop Valence noted that the crisis affects our priests and religious as well.
Thousands of people are in long lines trying to buy fuel, gas, milk powder, sugar, rice, and medicines, and many have lost their jobs. Prices have soared, Bishop said.
Sri Lankan food prices are now 80 percent higher than last year, following a spike in inflation above 54 percent last month. The central bank predicts further price increases to 70 percent in the near future.
In his Sunday Angelus prayer, Pope Francis joined the religious leaders of Sri Lanka in calling for dialogue for the common good, and expressed his closeness to Sri Lankans.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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