Melani Manel Perera

Carols are a reminder of the incarnation of Jesus. Choirs asked the audience to reflect, not applaud. "People rush through shopping. We rely on worldly things as we prepare for Christmas". Advent instead invites us "to straighten our crooked paths."

The project by a Buddhist group is listed in the Guinness World Records. The artificial tree measures 72.1 metres and cost almost US$ 72,000. For the prime minister, “although Sri Lanka is a predominantly Buddhist country, it has shown the world that all religions".

The clean-up was carried out last Saturday as part of a series of initiatives undertaken to mark a local association’s 200th anniversary in 2020. People must be informed on how to manage trash disposal. Provincial and local authorities backed the initiative.

Card Malcolm Ranjith led the Mass. The archbishop of Colombo urges Catholics to "work for the liberation of others" and "to become the saviours of our brothers and sisters and to practice faith as true followers of Jesus".

Pope Francis appointed him bishop two days ago. He will meet diocese’s staff to understand its most urgent needs. The province is still feeling the consequences of the country’s civil war. The new bishop plans to continue in the footsteps of his predecessors. Politics and religion do not mix, but it is urgent to defend people.

Students from the Holy Family Convent school in Colombo helped two needy families and the Children’s Ward in the Cancer Hospital in Maharagama. Students funded the three deeds with money from ticket sales to fellow students of a play, the ‘Horror House’, which they performed.

The Day must be observed with "a special prayer and practical action” to “show the Christian duty to the poor of the country." Priests, men and women religious as well as lay people are "agents of social transformation and sanctification." "In our Liturgy and sermons, [we reiterate] our Christian duty towards the poor and the respect and dignity with which we should treat them, organise campaigns to help the poorer families and other sections of society afflicted by egoism."

They are students of the Holy Family Convent of Kalutara. The School Prefects Union launched the "Green School" environmental reclamation project. Waste has been differentiated for recycling.

Fr Joe Fernando founded the Catholic Church’s main charitable organisation in Sri Lanka in 1968. Today it has a national centre and 13 diocesan offices. A new website has been set up. The official song of the jubilee was presented. The charity’s 2018-2021 action plan was made public.

Children study in Tamil and Sinhalese. Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Christian pupils hold a common prayer. The school model, based on plans of the president of the time, was adopted in 1996 to promote inter-ethnic harmony.

In the "united" village of Kovilgama, teachers and volunteers try to support children’s education despite the lack of basic resources.

For the past 233 days, some Tamil Hindu mothers have been engaged in a sit-in in front of the Governor’s House. They want to know what happened to their missing children. In Trincomalee alone, 1,800 people went missing. The mothers want to know if there is justice for all.