Browsing by Author "Perera, W.V.K.P."

Filter results by typing the first few letters
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    A Study of the Development of the Concept of Social Justice in the Social Encyclicals 1891-1991
    (International Postgraduate Research Conference 2019, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Perera, W.V.K.P.
    In an inquiry into the social dimension of justice, what is noticed in the Social Encyclicals which appeared since 1891 onwards is the traditional Aristotelico-Thomistic concepts of Distributive and Commutative Justice as well as Luigi Taparelli D’ Azaegllio’s neo-Thomistic notion of Social Justice. The main focus of the present research is the development of the concept of Social Justice in the Catholic Social Encyclicals. The period envisaged stretches from the issuance of Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum (1891) to that of John Paul II’s Centesimus Annus which commemorated the former’s centenary in 1991; the social encyclicals of this period are analyzed according to the method of literary criticism. Though David Hollenbach and Charles E. Curran mentions only the occurrences of various forms of Justice in the encyclicals, they have not traced the development of the concept of Social Justice in an elaborated detailed study. Neither has anyone else made a study of Social Justice in the encyclicals nor employed the technique of literary criticism. Hence this research fills in that twofold lacuna.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Water in Crisis: Evolving a Theology of Water in the Context of Sri Lanka
    (University of Kelaniya, 2015) Perera, W.V.K.P.
    History and archaeologyrevealSri Lankato be a land endowed with abundant water resources and its people to have been creators of a civilization stamped by a tradition of hydro-engineering. Yet, during the last few decades, this culture has been adversely affected by a series of inappropriate humaninterventions, leading to a massive water crisis including water pollution, scarcity of water and privatization of water. The present study examines this crisis from the perspective of liberation theology. The method employed is based on the“see-judge-act” model proposed by Joseph Leo Cardijn. The importance of this study lies in the fact that there is little research on theology of water in the context of Sri Lanka. A solution to this pressing problem could be found by unearthing the riches of the religious and cultural heritage of ancient Sri Lanka. The values of this unique water culture transmitted by oral tradition are still alive in the collective memory of the communities that live in the wewa regions. This study explores these values to further a liberation theology stance on the use and preservation of island’s water resources. Sri Lanka’s water heritage and its people’s religious convictions will be judiciously incorporated in this study. The establishment of equality in the use of water as a commonly owned means of production resort to biblical rather than juridical justice. Co-responsibility with the Creator over water and the need for conversion are some theological options proposed to solve this crisis. The study concludes with a series of practical proposals.