St. Anne's Shrine, Talawila celebrates 250 years:

Bishop slams abortion, life's God's gift

A vital subject hardly addressed, came under attack by a spiritual leader at a potent time when we hear and read about it when a developing foetus or an embryo in a womb is snatched and violently put to an end it is sheer murder from whatever angle we look at it.

I was listening to the usually gentle and soft-spoken Bishop of Chilaw, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Devsritha Valence Mendis coming down hard with vengeance on abortion in a passionately addressed sermon to mark the historic shrine of St. Anne, in its 250 years celebration at Talawila in the Diocese of Chilaw where he is the popular head of the flock.

Wherever Bishop Mendis preaches they gather in their thousands to hear him but that day was extraordinary with a sea of heads.

Bishop Mendis could not have asked for a better platform than what he had this day with an estimated crowd of devotees, spilling over more than 700,000 flooding to the ancient shrine of St. Anne. They were not confined only to the Chilaw Diocese but from around the country closer to the North Western Province.

Intricacies

His Lordship explained the painful intricacies that involve in destroying an innocent helpless life, the beautiful stirring life a mother carries that God has gifted her which no one has the right to destroy for whatever reason.

He said abortion means wilful killing that amounts to murder and questioned who has the right to put an end to the law or consent of the individual? Neither, he slammed hard. In the rapt attention among the devotees, one could hear a pin drop.

He drove his fact with such velocity, I am sure the truth dawned on them.

“When a subject is as delicate as abortion, many try to shudder away from its fundamental principles and responsibility rather than addressing the issue not only as Christians but as human beings and we being the representatives of God, it is our duty to appraise and forbid His children resorting to abortion.

We must interpret its validity in strict conformity with such superlative conformity for man and priest to discover and impart exactly what God seeks as prohibition to any form of abortion.

God is the end of the law who determines upon every birth from its inception.

He creates and gifts unto the world life. Life is about beautiful beings and no one on earth has the right to destroy it. The unborn foetus is sacred in the presence of God and all Christians, all His sheep must understand, value and appreciate its importance”, Bishop Mendis said and called upon the devotees who should interact with the issue.

Moral laws

Very often abortion becomes a desperate bid arising from situation such sins as rape, incest, adultery and child-conception.

It can be termed as abomination arising from sexual prohibition among moral laws but the ritual laws have to end in the Lord. ‘Thou shall not kill; says a Commandment. ‘Kill’ means a life beginning with a foetus. Christians should set an example in their community to see the prevention of abortion and finally what leads to it, especially among the youth who make mistakes and head for abortion more in shame to face society rather than putting an end to the beginning of a new life.

One way to avoid abortion is to levy stringent penalties and punishment to those who cause the victims of situations, to terminate conception that arise from rape, another aspect of abortion the Bishop touched upon.

In the USA rape is a capital punishment which accounts for less abortions in the country.

This is a wake-up call to one and all and the sooner the issue is dealt with, abortion will remain rampant not only to destroy a new life but in the process that of the mother too.

Traditional doctrine

Abortion threatens to alter the traditional doctrine of the church and reject the authenticity of the Holy Scriptures and question God's reliability mostly because the young have stayed away from the word of God.

It is in this context that Bishop Mendis surfaced the very pertinent subject and its repercussions to the multitude of his sheep gathered, mostly women, for them to wake up, consider and reconsider the sinful culture that is gaining momentum.

It was well timed, appropriate and met with results.

The beautiful church, set against the golden beach, dotted with fishing boats, palm trees, rushing wind which was the background part of our Lord's life where he asked some of His disciples not to cast their nets for fish, but to net the fish of His Words.

Very symbolic, very historic to the rising voice of Bishop Devsritha Valence Mendis as he administered the word of God among his simple, trusting folk.

His eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo Diocese who officiated and presided over the Holy Mass, paid a tribute to Bishop Mendis for his endeavours to keep all Christians together with commitment and dedication to God and the church.

- G.H.