'I am not asking for a pardon, I am asking for justice'

A Sri Lankan Catholic priest -- excommunicated recently from the Church -- has vowed that he will persuade the Vatican to give himself and his brand of liberation theology a fair hearing.

Father Tissa Balasuriya, 72, said he has appealed to the Church to withdraw its order because he has not committed heresy in his 1990 publication, Mary and human liberation.

''I am fighting the excommunication,'' Father Balasuriya said in an interview. ''I am not asking for a pardon, I am asking for justice. I want those who did this to be tried.''

The Vatican congregation of the doctrine of the faith, the Roman Catholic church's doctrinal watchdog, has issued a 'notification,' excommunicating Father Balasuriya, a priest of 51 years standing and widely respected on the island for his brand of liberation theology.

A statement issued by the Vatican on January 5 says that Father Balasuriya incurred the severest form of excommunication or latae sententiae because he distorted Catholic dogma. The last person excommunicated in Sri Lanka was the US-born Reverend Leonard Feeney in the 1950s for an alleged statement he made against salvation outside the church.

The dispute is over Father Balasuriya's book, in which he has challenged fundamental Catholic beliefs such as baptism, original sin and immaculate conception. The priest is the author of nine other books.

The Vatican has accused the priest of questioning the validity of sacred tradition and of minimising the validity of faith, among other things. It says the priest's presentation of original sin questions the basic teachings of the Church regarding Jesus and his mother Mary and casts serious doubts on the divinity of Christ, the role of Christ as redeemer and the privileged position of Mary in the history of salvation.

But Father Balasuriya denies the charges. ''I firmly state that I have never denied, rejected or deviated from any doctrine of the Catholic faith,'' he said. ''It follows that I have not committed any form of heresy. Therefore, there is no basis in fact or in law to make a declaration that I have incurred excommunication.''

The priest, who is associated with the Colombo-based Centre for Society and Religion, says he was not given a fair hearing and argues his excommunication seemed nothing more than the church's way of sending a message to those who differ on dogma.

"Many other writers, specially in the West, have expressed similar or identical views. None of them as far as we know has been treated so severely and with the threat of excommunication.Why am I subjected to such unique and selective discrimination?'' he asked.

Many Sri Lankans have rallied around Father Balasuriya, saying the Vatican was labelling him a 'rebel priest' to send a signal to its many detractors.

''This is disturbing for many Catholics,'' said Bernadine De Silva, assistant director of the Colombo-based centre. ''They are wondering why this is happening to Father, who they have known for many years and who has presided over mass so many times and spoken of the gospel in relation to society.''

''It is a very dangerous trend, like a warning that the Church does not want to hear people speaking in a contemporary context. There are very progressive and radical priests all over the world, even in Sri Lanka. This is one method of trying to silence these people,'' she said.

Father Balasuriya remains defiant. He argues that the time has come for Christians round the world to rediscover their faith, a conviction that drove him to write the controversial book. ''On the threshold of the new millennium, Christians need to place themselves humbly before the lord and examine the responsibility they too have for the evils of our day,'' he said.

''Why is it today Christians are among the most exploitative nations of the world? Why is it that the so-called Christian countries of the world are the main shareholders of the IMF and the World Bank which are imposing conditionalities on us, in which the poor do not get the food they need. Why is it that the Christian conscience is not protesting against this? This is because we have a wrong image of Jesus and of Mary and of spirituality. Therefore we have to correct that,'' the priest said.

He also claims to be arguing for a theology more in tune with today's multi-cultural, multi-ethnic world which has diverse levels of needs and priorities. ''What meaning has prayer in our churches today for the one-third of Colombo that is living in slums? What change have we done? What meaning have all the masses that are said in the world today to change this system of killing that is being imposed by the world powers?'' he asked.

UNI