Sri Lankan priest appointed secretary of Vatican's interreligious body

Pope Francis has elevated a Sri Lankan priest as the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, according to a media report on Friday.

The pontiff appointed Msgr. Indunil Janakratne Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage, who is currently serving as the under-secretary of the Council, on Wednesday.

The 52-year-old priest, who belongs to the Diocese of Badulla in Sri Lanka, succeeds Spanish Bishop Miguel ngel Ayuso Guixot, the Daily Mirror reported.

Msgr. Indunil was born in 1966 to a Buddhist mother who converted on marrying a Catholic.

Two years after his priestly ordination in the Badulla Diocese in December 2000, he went to Rome where he obtained a doctorate in Missiology from the Pontifical Urban University.

The university later hired him as a professor at its Faculty of Missiology.

On June 12, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as the Undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue was established by Paul VI in 1964, with the aim of promoting dialogue with persons of other religions.

The Council is composed of about 30 members and some 50 councillors from across the world from various backgrounds and expertise, serving as consultants, specialists in religious studies or are engaged in the field of dialogue.