Complaint to Vatican against use of Pope for electioneering!

 Friday, 28 November 2014

A group of Catholics are preparing to lodge a complaint with the Vatican against president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s use of Pope Francis in his electioneering.

When the president went to the Vatican last October-end to extend the official invitation for the pontifical visit the island, the president was very directly asked not to use the picture of the pope for any political purpose. In the same manner he makes promises to the Sri Lankan voters, the president promised to the Vatican officials that he would not commit such a thing.

However, in breach of that promise, cut-outs depicting the president with the pope are prominently on display in Catholic-dominated areas. Taking pictures and videoing these cut-outs, the Catholics going to complain to the Vatican, through the Bishop’s House in Colombo or directly, according to reports reaching ‘Lanka News Web’ through a very reliable source.

If the allegation is found to be true in an investigation by Vatican officials, there is a danger of a cancellation of the pontiff’s visit to Sri Lanka, say the Catholics.