A letter of demand will be sent to National Freedom Front Leader Wimal Weerawansa, requesting a correction to a statement made regarding Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith.
The statement in question was made during a television interview and later published on a news website, suggesting that Cardinal Ranjith’s absence from the 2019 Easter service in Kochchikade may have been due to ‘divine warning’.
The Media Spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Colombo Rev. Fr. Cyril Gamini addressing a media briefing said the remarks misrepresented the Cardinal and could lead to a misunderstanding.
According to Fr. Gamini, Weerawansa implied that the Cardinal may have had prior knowledge of the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. Weerawansa had stated that, for the first time in history, the Cardinal did not attend Easter Sunday morning Mass on the day of the attacks, despite having done so in previous years. Weerawansa had also mentioned the Cardinal resumed participation in Easter Mass services after 2019.
Fr. Gamini refuted these claims, stating they were false and was completely baseless. He clarified that the Cardinal traditionally conducts a midnight Easter Mass, considered the main Easter celebration for Catholics in Sri Lanka.
In 2019, the Cardinal held this midnight service at St. Lucia’s Cathedral in Kotahena, consistent with Catholic custom. Fr Gamini added that the Cardinal generally does not lead morning services on Easter Sunday.
Fr. Gamini emphasized that while freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, it does not extend to spreading falsehoods. He confirmed that legal steps are being taken to issue a letter of demand to Weerawansa, requesting a formal correction of the inaccurate claims. (Islandnews)
