Melani Manel Perera

The authorities have approved a draft bill that records the disappeared. Family members will be issued a "certificate of absence". So they can access the properties of the missing relative. Until now they had to sign a death certificate, but the recognition of the remains is often impossible.

Roshen Shanaka was killed by police in 2011 during a protest against welfare reform. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa set up a special commission of inquiry, but the results of its investigation have never been made public. Relatives of those wounded in police repression want justice and compensation.

Caritas Colombo set up a mobile clinic in the village of Delathura. Despite being ill and the rains, people came in droves. In a single morning, some 400 people were visited. A private hospital provided medical drugs free of charge.

Heavy rains hit 237,000 people, including some 62,000 forced out of their homes. Death toll now stands at 102. Government has set up 250 sites for people displaced by floods. Catholic bishops have appealed to fellow Sri Lankans’ solidarity, and churches have opened their doors. Catholics and Buddhists are donating money slated for other uses, like personal birthday, and the Buddha’s own birthday.

For three days, heavy rains have been battering the island nation. So far, the official death toll stands at 35 with 350,000 people displaced. A huge landslide in the central Province swept away 66 houses and 400 residents. About 250 have been rescued, and there is little hope for the others.

Thamilini Jeyakkumar’s autobiography was recently launched. It is inspired by her change of heart and the loving care of her Sinhalese doctor and few Sinhalese friends during the brief illness that took her life. All the proceeds from the sale will go to a hospital. “Everyone can change their mind, at any age,” said the man behind the book’s publication.

The island lies off the coast of northwestern Sri Lanka. The local church is a pilgrimage destination, including from Tamil Nadu. The building will be completed for the saint's day in February of 2017. Almost US$ 67,000 were spent onth project.

The religious service was held at St Michael's Church in Colombo, with red flags and ornaments everywhere. Workers laid down their tools in front of the altar asking for God’s intercession for an end to the struggle and forced labour.

The ban was imposed in January 2015 against Rajapaksa government’s inability to curb illegal fishing. Since 2012, Sri Lankan fishermen under check due to lack of deterrent measures and violation of international law. Colombo exported 68% of fish to EU. The losses amount to 100 million dollars a year. Activist: "It is the fault of the unlawful conduct OF some fishermen, who then had a negative impact on the entire industry."

Mgr Norbert Andradi, president of the National Laity Commission, issued a message for the occasion, reprinted in a Catholic weekly. “The lay apostolate is as important as the priesthood,” he wrote. Lay people can serve children, youth, young couples, and new families. By “sharing the roles and the abilities of one another,” the laity can “manifest the merciful face of the Father.”

The Paris climate agreement was signed yesterday in New York. More than 150 heads of state and government have pledged to keep the increase in global temperature "well below 2 degrees", and limit the increase to 1.5 degrees. Despite this, islands are likely to face rising sea levels. In Sri Lanka, coal plants continue to pollute.

In his message to Sri Lanka’s Catholics on World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the archbishop of Colombo called for prayers and support for education so as to “encourage many more to follow” those already consecrated. For the Rector of the National Seminary, the vocation to the religious life “is a seed planted by God that germinates and grows in a human heart when there is a genuine and positive response on the part of the recipient.”