Card Ranjith hopes that a new Sri Lanka can be built in 2023
by Melani Manel Perera

In a video message, the archbishop urges the faithful to seek this goal in the new year. Despite its economic difficulties, the country must be loved more this year, which marks 75 years of independence.


Colombo (AsiaNews) – Card Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, addressed a New Year video message to the Christian community. In it, he calls for building “a new Sri Lanka” by “joining hands with our brothers and sisters as much as we can”.

Sadly, “75 years have passed since the independence of Sri Lanka,” and “Sri Lankans have become slaves of the world today.”

For the prelate. “If the current system is continued, Sri Lanka may be completely destroyed, economically degraded, and lost. I believe that we should not allow this country to be destroyed”.  

To avoid this, “this new year,” Sri Lankans should “work together, courageously and selflessly to recover from this great destruction.”

It is fair to say that in terms of progress, the country “is not where it should be. Several countries that gained independence with Sri Lanka are far ahead,” the prelate laments.

“Due to the dangerous choices and extremist attitudes of the various leaders of our country, today we have fallen into the position of being called one of the poorest countries in the Asian region”.

Yet, while “poverty is not only external but also internal” and many people have seen their lives turned into a hopeless existence due to difficult economic circumstances, for Card Ranjith 2023 should be a year to love Sri Lanka.