Courtesy of communications from Avril Thurgood, Helen Fernando & Moninna Guanwardena ….. stressing the Revd Malcolm Ranjith’s Pragmatic Benevolence in These Hours of Covid-Threat
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A CONSIDERED COMMENT from “MEEGAMUWA”, a WELL-PLACED FRIEND, 28 August 2021:
)Let’s hope that those of other faiths including non-RC Christians who have large churches that remain almost empty throughout the year, will emulate. this course of action. For the sake of balance, however, I ought to mention that our prelate’s compassion extends only to those of his flock. This ungodly discrimination ought to be considered with two other facts that are probably unknown to the authors of your piece — one, that the ‘Basilica’ converted to a Covid ward (displayed in your images) is equipped with facilities comparable to those at the grandest upmarket private hospitals in Colombo where a one-day stay could costs anything up to 100,000 rupees, but are not affordable even to equip our larger General Hospitals (except in a few of the ICUs).
A = Note that ALL such hospital , needless to stress, are open to all, regardless of ‘faith.
B = Further, note another fact (conveyed to me by an impeccable source): at least a few Buddhist temples in our more remote localities have opened their ‘Sermon Sheds’ (bana maduwa) for treatment the Covid-victims with indigenous medication.
It is the ‘holier than thou’ mindset of the Christians in the presentation above that irks me, knowing them well enough – and I am not talking ‘history’.
** Meegamuwa was raised as a Christian but I gather hehas not atended church for years.