Bishop’s views on homosexuality are not of the Anglican Church
I am greatly distressed that the Bishop of Colombo, Rt. Rev. Duleep de Chickera, has opened up debate on a sensitive topic such as homosexuality in the newspaper rather than in the Theological Commission of the Church (The Sunday Times, February 9). It almost pre-empts proper debate in Church Councils because of reluctance to disagree with the Bishop in public.

Now that his views have got such prominence, as an Anglican and elected member of the Constituent Assembly of the Church of Ceylon drafting a new constitution under the authority of Parliament, let me put the record straight. This is necessary in view of the adverse comments I have received from non-Christians on our Church based on the Bishop's views.

His views are certainly not the official views of the Church of Ceylon on whose behalf he has no authority to make new theology without due consultation and reference to higher bodies. The official stand of the Church as given in the formularies and the Constitution is that homosexual behaviour is a state of sin.

When the Bishop says, "People must define their sexuality", he makes it sound like a choice. By this reasoning, schoolboys in hostels who play around would be persuaded that they are homosexuals instead of leading good family lives as many do later. The call for "long term committed relationships" between homosexuals ignores studies showing that paedophilia and homosexuality often go together and that homosexuals, particularly male homosexuals, tend to have multiple partners.

Sexuality, the Church teaches, has to be managed and channelled. Christian life involves resisting the pressures of the flesh and not using those pressures as licence. As a Church we say in the marriage service that marriage was ordained by God "secondly … for a remedy against sin, and to avoid fornication; that such persons as have not the gift of continence might marry and keep themselves undefiled members of Christ's body". That is, I do not have the right to say that God made me to be attracted carnally to every beautiful woman so I have the right to define myself as a womanizer. I am - we all are - called upon to be restrained in behaviour. We are asked to give up some things we want. That is a part of civilization. That is religious life.

If a person understands that, it is equally easy to understand why a person homosexually attracted to another should not give in to that attraction. If we cannot understand that, then we have what is happening in the Church today. And the result is that people who come to Church for spiritual things simply go away.

The Anglican Church today is down to some 25,000 members from close to 100,000 a few years ago. The Church of England, the mother church, offers a religious life without restraint through gimmicks like allowing divorcee marriage and accommodation of non-biblical teachings, but it has not stemmed the haemorrhaging of members.

The orthodox churches grow at our expense as our Neros fiddle with their philosophy. In England, Anglicans have been overtaken by Muslims. Here we have been overtaken by the new churches that give the faithful the living waters for which they come.

The Bishop needs to understand the nature of faith. The Christian Church makes the faith-claim to be custodian to divinely revealed truth as given in the Bible and by the Church fathers. All that we believe rests on that and when you take it away, there is nothing, not even the Episcopal Authority that the Bishop exercises.

Elders who take up the reins of authority must accept the faith the Church says it stands for. If they cannot, then they must say they cannot accept the faith of the Church and move out. It is not about rights as in "Your Friendly Neighbourhood Associa-tion" where all those living down a street have a right to belong, whatever their caste, religion or sexual inclination.

The Church has a shared worldview and one opts by joining or leaving according to one's worldview. The Bishop is in charge of an organization. As a leader, and in keeping with his consecration vows he was ordered by the Archbishop to take in full, he must uphold the principles and faith of that organization.

May God give him the necessary strength and wisdom.
Prof. S. Ratnajeevan
H. Hoole
Colombo 3

Domestic agencies should be monitored
I have always had reservations about getting domestics from agencies and we only contacted one when we were absolutely desperate. In October 2002, when our domestic help was unable to continue, we contacted an agency in Nugegoda.

The first recruit was soft spoken and humble. Except for cooking a simple curry lunch, she didn't know much else. She also told us in no uncertain terms that she would be out on Christmas Day though we were Christians and required her services. She came down with malaria and went off in a month.

The next woman sent us as a replacement (this is done within three months) lasted only two hours. She was not prepared to use a kerosene cooker, only gas.

I thought we would be lucky the third time. But it was not so. She arrived on a Friday and asked for a call on Saturday evening to inform her husband where she was. On Tuesday evening she got a call that rogues had broken into her home. She shed a few tears and left promising to return. Not only didn't she come back she also persuaded the other girl in our home to leave.

I feel that domestic agencies do not screen their applicants or ask for letters of recommendation from previous employers. All they are concerned about is their commission. It is a racket. It is time the government registered these domestic agencies and maintained records.
Iromi Salgado
Colombo 2

Tree killer vs. killer trees
I was dismayed to note the "anti-tree" tone in the article published in The Sunday Times of February 9.

In these days of increased environment awareness and the dire need to preserve all things natural, the article mainly highlighted their potential dangers. Think of how people would feel in a treeless, concrete, asphalt landscape.

I am glad that this city has responsible citizens; none of whom interviewed subscribe to this paranoia. It is unfortunate to note the cynicism in the article regarding the valid suggestion that a tree should be planted to replace those cut down.

Singapore is an ideal example where an ultra modern city co-exists with millions of trees.

The municipality should maintain the trees but cutting them down as Jagath Gunewardene rightly says should be the last resort. Unfortunately, we do have several "tree killers" in our city. The notable trees "killed" in the last few months are: a Mara tree and an Andaman Redwood on Gregory's Road and a Nuga tree on Flower Road.

A few weeks ago I was sad to see a grand Mara tree being bludgeoned by municipal authorities down Gregory's Road. The tree has probably stood there for over 50 years, offering shade to many and also home to several birds. Someone who feared the tree and wanted its branches cut called the municipality. The municipality brought along a crane, a hook and several chains. They swung the chains against the tree causing it to crack and splinter. It was painful to watch this grand tree being beaten and bludgeoned to death. The municipal authorities too will benefit from a trip to Singapore to see how well trees are maintained and cared for there.
Viji Jayewardene
Colombo 7

Rescue rails or face disaster
More people are commuting by train due to cheap fares and safe travelling. Safety depends on many factors such as the condition of the brakes, coaches, tracks and bridges.

But little is done to check out the track and bridges that are as indispensable as rolling stock. Sufficient funds are not allocated to maintain them, with speed restrictions being imposed as a safeguard.

In the history of the Sri Lanka Railway, no bridge collapses have been reported as they have been inspected regularly and maintained. But now such maintenance has almost come to a standstill due to lack of funds. This is dangerous.

Meanwhile, speed restrictions will delay train timings. It is not too late for the government to restructure the train service.
Retired Railway Officer
Hikkaduwa

English and Singlish: The missing verb
'English: Gross abuse or just Singlish?' by Carlton Samarajiwa (The Sunday Times, February 2) was interesting and timely. Publicity to glaring errors is bound to bring about an awareness among writers about the need to mind their language.

However, in my opinion, some of the errors spotlighted, seem to be slips of the pen as has been the case in the article where the writer referring to the use of prepositions says, "Not to use a preposition at all when one needed is equally bad". The clause in this sentence lacks a verb.
M. Thambipillai
Point Pedro

Rosy: A diplomatic asset
Rosy Senanayake's nomination as High Commissioner-designate to Malaysia has caused much comment in the press.

Observations have been largely snide, and some, chauvinistic. The interest was set off with inaccurate reporting that her name had been submitted with a list of nominations by the Foreign Ministry and rejected by the President. It was later clarified that there was no such nomination at that time.

Another comment, was that whatever objections 'plain Janes' may have, "she (Rosy) could serve our country well as an ambassador". That publication posed the question why she was nominated to an Islamic country where "beauty contests are not looked at benignly". What special insight one has into the Malaysian psyche is not known. It is hardly likely that "the agreement " will be withheld by Kuala Lumpur because Rosy won a beauty contest some years ago.

Those of us who know and admire Rosy for her outstanding qualities of charm, diligence and wit are confident that she will bring credit to her country. KL's diplomatic corp will be richer by her inclusion.
Laj Wickramasinghe
Nugegoda

We need that help
This is with reference to the letter which appeared in 'The Sunday Times' of December 17, last year. We are proud of Bandula Chandraratna's noble service to his alma mater and to other Sri Lankans.

Our association - the Mannar Association for Relief and Rehabilitation (MARR) - which was founded in 1985 has now grown and is engaged in many services, especially in the education sector. We help more than 35 university students, 150 orphans in school, 242 children of widows, 1,480 destitute children, 85 school drop-outs and 105 village volunteer youths in Mannar. We hope Mr. Chandraratne will get in touch with us soon.
Sinclair Peter
Project Officer, MARR

Redeem this world
Help oh, stop this spinning world,
That's spiralling out of control,
And oh, I want to step off this world,
That's all too muddled,
And seized with;
War and terror,
Greed and fear,
Waste and haste,
Arrogance and pretence
Moral decadence
And saddled with,
Mounting garbage hills and floating oil spills,
Together with smoking mills that kill
And choking fumes of automobiles,
Still more, this world rife with;
Financial scandals and corporate tumbles,
Giants Enron and World Telecom in shambles;
And more to come;
Activists warn,
Of a global warm,
That's threatening to harm,
And a rising sea level,
To drown us all,
Listen oh!
Gone are the days,
Of the simple ways,
Of living by the soil,
With our sweat and toil,
Yet contented,
We lived,
In idyllic splendour,
In the lap of Mother Nature,
Filling our cups of joy,
And living in harmony
Alas! Now what's become of all these?
No more this life of bliss,
And things have gone amiss,
Oh! Something sinister to seize
We are so ill at ease
No calm! No peace!
Only war and piece,
Not the cherished peace,
Help us, oh God!
Bless us with thy wisdom,
To protect our little kingdom,
And let saner counsel here, prevail
To redeem this world that ails.
Perambalam Sivalingarajah
Colombo 4

Hold referendum in east
The LTTE always talks of Tamil-speaking people but does not concede that 90 percent of the Muslims are Tamil speaking. The LTTE chased away the Muslims who had been living for centuries in the Northern Province. Therefore, the Muslims do not want to live under the LTTE, after all the suffering they have undergone.

When the Indo-Lanka Agreement was signed, the Northern and Eastern Provinces were merged temporarily with provision to hold a referendum within a year.

Soon after the Indo-Lanka Agreement, then President J.R. Jayewardene said he would campaign against the merger.

I appeal to President Chandrika Kumaratunga to hold the referendum immediately in the Eastern Province to find out the people's views on a permanent merger.

Though the Muslims and Tamils use a common language, they are poles apart. The LTTE is just trying to hoodwink donor countries that they have now turned a new leaf.
K. Segu Mohideen
Puttalam

Where are the stamped envelopes?
There is an acute shortage of stamped envelopes at the main post office and sub-post offices in the Gampola area, causing much inconvenience to people.

Hope this matter will be looked into by the Post Master General and the Minister concerned.
J.P. Wickremasuriya
Gampola

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