Cardinal Ranjith calls for restrained Christmas amid Sri Lanka floods that displaced 1.5M. Urges compassion as Caritas delivers food, water & cash aid.
Newsroom (04/12/2025 Gaudium Press ) As the nation reels from floods due to Cyclone Ditwah and weeks of torrential rain that have killed hundreds and displaced more than 1.5 million people, the Archbishop of Colombo has called on Catholics to approach the coming Christmas season with restraint and solidarity rather than “excessive celebrations, extravagance, and waste.”
In a Christmas message released yesterday evening, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith described the current crisis as “a very painful situation,” highlighting the unknown number of victims still buried under rubble in landslide-hit highland areas and the thousands now sheltering in reception centres with only the clothes they wore when floodwaters forced them to flee.
“And yet, how can we celebrate with all the outward displays,” the cardinal asked, “when thousands of our fellow citizens are without their loved ones, buried under rubble due to landslides? And still, in reception centres, with nothing of them except the clothes they were wearing when they had to flee the floodwaters?”
Cardinal Ranjith urged the faithful to make the Nativity “an occasion of spiritual joy and concern for those who suffer,” transforming traditional festivities into acts of concrete help for the bereaved and the homeless. “Celebrate, of course,” he said, “but help as much as possible those in need, those who have lost loved ones, and those who have lost their homes and possessions,” so that Christmas may become “a profoundly spiritual and joyful experience” filled with blessings for the afflicted.
While the cardinal’s words set the spiritual tone for the season, Catholic relief organisations have already mobilised on the ground. Caritas Seth Sarana, the social arm of the Archdiocese of Colombo, working alongside Caritas SEDEC Sri Lanka, has rolled out a five-phase emergency response targeting flood-affected parishes in the capital and surrounding areas.
On 1 December, Seth Sarana released an initial emergency fund of one million Sri Lankan rupees (LKR 1 million) in cash to 18 affected parishes. Subsequent phases saw the distribution of dry rations, bottled water, sanitary items, ready-to-eat meals, and further cash grants. By the fifth and most recent phase, another LKR 1.3 million in food and water had reached families in eight parishes, while an earlier tranche of LKR 200,000 in cash aid supported four additional parishes.
In total, Seth Sarana has channelled several million rupees in direct assistance, made possible by donations from local parishes and individual supporters.
“We express our sincere gratitude to all the donors and supporters who have come forward,” a Seth Sarana official told AsiaNews. Special thanks were extended to the parishes of Kotte, Wadduwa, Koralawela, Dehiwala, Kalutara, and Kamaragoda for their generous contributions of dry rations and drinking water.
As Sri Lanka heads into what is normally its most joyful religious season, Cardinal Ranjith’s appeal and the Church’s rapid relief effort underscore a shared message: this Christmas, compassion must outweigh celebration.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Asianews.it
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