Friendly Priest, worked Tireless Champion for Social Justice and Church renewal no more

“Senior Catholic Priest Father  Reid Shelton Fernando was a luminary in the Sri Lankan church. A prolific writer, educator, human rights advocator, and advocate for a renewed church model centered on justice, peace, and reconciliation, ended his earthly mission on the 1st of June. Farewell to his beautiful soul took place at the St. Carlo Borromeo’s Church at Willorawatte, Moratuwa of his village, on the 3rd of June.

Father Reid Shelton who died at the age of 80,  spent a long time at the residence of the retired priest “Evening Star” in Colombo, and was buried in the cemetery of St. Carlo Borromeo’s Church in Willorawatta, holding after the requiem mass at 2.00 p.m. on last Monday.

According to the several information Father Reid Shelton had share earlier, he has rendered invaluable services by training lay Catholic leadership as the national chaplain of the Christian Workers’ Movement (CWM) and Young Christian Workers’ Movement (YCW) in a long period. Also, he mobilized factory workers in the Free Trade Zones (FTZ) with the backing of the CWM and the YCW.

As Father Reid had told , he also compiled a theological dictionary in Sinhala, to popularize theology among local lay students. and seven volumes have been already published.

Father Reid also edited the local theological magazine, the Shravaka. The priest was widely recognized in Sri Lanka for his writings and commentaries on social and political issues in newspapers.

“But, even though he departed from us from the physical gesture, his prophetic voice and lifelong dedication to serving the marginalized will echo through the ages.” Told Mojo News about the Father Reid Shelton, by the Conveners of the Movement of Christian Women’s Voice, as Father Reid Shelton is one of the Movement’s Advisers.

“Father Reid is a very unique character. We love him very much. Something we especially saw in his character was his love for his employees. Great attention. Are they getting fair wages? A father with a very kind heart who inquires whether the employees are getting the kind of justice from the employers that they can live on” told Father Nandana Mantunge the Director of the Human Rights Office in the Diocese of Kandy.

He also said that, “even though the father was very uncomfortable and went for blood dialysis, he did not stop his daily activities. No matter what illnesses the father suffers from, he accepts them all cheerfully and engages in many tasks. He was creating a new dictionary. We would like Father Reid’s dictionary to be published soon as the remaining level” said Father Nandana.

And Father Rohan Dominique a NGO Representative of the Claretians at the United Nations and the past Claretian Missionaries – Sri Lanka Told that we really lost a champion for justice and church renewal.

” at his core, Father Reid questioned whether the local church was truly following the path laid out by Jesus Christ. “Have we not deviated from the spirituality of the Kingdom of God and presented a model suitable to the whims and fancies of individuals?” he wrote. “Have we not lost the priorities in the pastoral approach where the common good is flouted?” Father Dominique  said.

“He was unsparing in his criticism of the failures of the institutional church, lambasting administrative bloat, clergy moral lapses, and attempts to “sweep abuses under the carpet.” Yet his motives were pure – he fervently believed the church must undergo renewal to recapture its essence of selfless service to the poor and oppressed”.

“The Sri Lankan church has lost a towering figure in Father Reid Shelton Fernando. While he is gone, his vision for a renewed church bearing witness to the Kingdom of God, service to the “least of these” deserves to be fervently embraced by a new generation. His legacy demands we not settle for the “status quo” but boldly ask “what new pastoral options” can make Jesus’ upside-down kingdom values a reality today” added Father Dominique.

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