Leader of JVP Rohana Wijeweera married a Catholic. The Catholic Church never supported Marxism and was very critical of it. Wijeweera’s wife married him due to the pressure exerted by her brother, who was one of Wijeweera’s followers. Despite the Catholic Church’s disapproval of Marxism during the 1971 insurrection, certain sections of the Church supported the insurrection.
Leo Nanayakkara, the Kandy Bishop, played a leading role in propagating the JVP. While the other bishops denounced the insurrection, Kandy Bishop supported it. Once the revolt failed, the JVP and the Church initiated many organisations to support the oppressed rebels. ‘Centre for Society and Religion,’ ‘Sathyodaya,’ ‘Thulana Research Centre,’ and ‘Centre for Janaawabodi’ were a few among them.
After the release of Wijeweera and other rebel JVP leaders, they worked closely with these Church-initiated organisations. The commencement of nongovernmental organisations for the first time in Sri Lanka was a church initiative. Many rebel leaders became the leaders of these non-governmental institutions. In 1988, in the face of crushing JVP, the slogan ‘democracy’ and ‘media freedom’ against the Premadasa government was brought forward by these organisations.
During the 1988 revolt, JVP’s unofficial radio was the Veritas radio run by the Church. This was an era when no social media and private television or radio channels existed. People who approved of JVP’s views listened to the Veritas channel. It became a very popular radio channel among the JVP cadres.
The Catholic Church backed JVP members to seek refuge in Italy for safety during the 1988-89 suppression. The head of the Centre for Society and Religion, Fr. Tissa Balasooriya, was the chief peace envoy of JVP during the peace talks with then National Security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali. The talks failed.
Pope issued his New Year message from the Vatican, denouncing the killing committed by the Premadasa government to crush the JVP. Maha Nayake Theros in Sri Lanka never issued any statements against the massacre. Church-backed NGOS played a crucial role in bringing Chandrika’s presidency in 1994.
During recent presidential elections, these NGOs’ influence turned Cardinal and others’ support to Anura. They convinced the cardinal that only the JVP, which exists outside the present system, could excavate the truth about the Easter Sunday attack. Some suspect that the JVP, along with these NGOs, is taking Cardinal for a ride in this aspect once again.
