Roman Catholic Archbishop And Bishops Of Ceylon (Amendment)

Roman Catholic Archbishop And Bishops Of Ceylon (Amendment)

AN ACT TO AMEND THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP AND BISHOPS OF CEYLON ORDINANCE.

Preamble

WHEREAS a portion of the area hitherto under the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Jaffna has now been created into a new Diocese called the Diocese of Mannar, and the Right Reverend Doctor Thomas Savundaranayagam, D.D., has been duly appointed Bishop of Mannar to administer the same and another portion of the same Diocese of Jaffna and a portion of the area hitherto under the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Trincomalee has now been created into a new Diocese called the Diocese of Anuradhapura, and the Right Reverend Doctor Henry Goonewardene, O.M.I., has been duly appointed Bishop of Anuradhapura to administer the same:

AND WHEREAS it is expedient to amend the Roman Catholic Archbishop and Bishops of Ceylon Ordinance to provide for the incorporation of the Bishop of Mannar, and the Bishop of Anuradhapura and in other respects :

BE it, therefore, enacted by the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka as follows : –

[21^st June
, 1985 ]

Short title.

1. This Act may be cited as the Roman Catholic Archbishop and Bishops of Ceylon (Amendment) Act, No. 27 of 1985.

Insertion of new section 3B in Chapter 338.

2. The Roman Catholic Archbishop and Bishops of Ceylon Ordinance, (hereinafter referred to as ” the principal enactment “) is hereby amended by the insertion, immediately after section 3A thereof (inserted therein by Act No. 28 of 1980), of the following new section which shall have effect as section 3B, of the principal enactment:

” Incorporation of the Bishop of Mannar and the Bishop of Anuradhapura.

3B. The Roman Catholic Bishops of Mannar and Anuradhapura, to wit, the Right Reverend Doctor Thomas Savundaranayagam, D.D., and the Right Reverend Doctor Henry Goonewardene, O.M.I. respectively and their successors duly appointed according to the laws and usages of the Roman Catholic Church, shall be bodies corporate and shall, for all the purposes of this Ordinance, have the names of the Bishop of Mannar and the Bishop of Anuradhapura respectively, and by such name shall have perpetual succession and shall have full power to acquire, purchase, take, hold and enjoy movable and immovable property of every description and to sell or otherwise dispose of the same, and may sue or be sued in respect of such property in all Courts of Justice. “.

Insertion of new section 5B in the principal enactment.

3. The following new section is hereby inserted immediately after section 5A (inserted by Act No. 28 of 1980), and shall have effect as section 5B, of the principal enactment:

” Vesting of property in the Bishop of Mannar and the Bishop of Anuraphapum.

5B. All property, both movable and immovable, already acquired, held or possessed by the said Right Reverend Doctor Thomas Savundaranayagam D.D., and by the said Right Reverend Doctor Henry Goonewardene, O.M.I., in their official capacity shall, subject to any trust or conditions affecting the same, vest in the said Bishop of Mannar and the said Bishop of Anuradhapura respectively. “.

Amendment of section 6 of the principal enactment.

4. Section 6 of the principal enactment, as ended by Act No. 28 of 1980, is hereby further amended by the insertion, immediately after subsection (2) of that section, of the following new subsection:

” (3) Any -instrument of conveyance, transfer or assignment executed by the Bishop of Jaffna in favour of the Bishop of Mannar or by the Bishop of Jaffna or the Bishop of Trincomalee in favour of the Bishop of Anuradhapura of all the property movable or immovable which by reason of the creation of the Diocese of Mannar and the Diocese of Anuradhapura become subject to the administration of the Bishop of Mannar or the Bishop of Anuradhapura respectively, shall be charged the stamp duty prescribed for such an instrument, under section 2 of the Stamp Duty Act, No. 43 of 1982.”.