The Archdiocese of Colombo yesterday condemned SJB MP Harin Fernando for what they alleged as “puerile attempt of Fernando to find excuses for his own grave misdeed and cast unjustified and unfounded aspersions on Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith.”

In a statement signed by Auxiliary Bishops of Colombo Drs. Maxwell G. Silva, J.D. Anthony and P. Anton Ranjith, the Archdiocese said that Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo, the Administration and the entire Catholic Clergy of the Archdiocesan Presbyterium, was shocked by Fernando’s statement at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry investigating the Easter Sunday attacks. The Catholic Church said that Fernando had attempted to insinuate that the Cardinal was also aware of the impending attacks and did not celebrate a public Mass in the morning of that fateful day.

“This is purely a presumption on the part of Fernando. As done in the past years, His Eminence had indeed presided over the solemn celebration of the Easter Vigil Service at midnight of Saturday, the 20th April 2019 which followed with the Easter Sunday Festive High Mass at St. Lucia’s Cathedral, Colombo 13 ending in the early hours of Sunday Morning. Subsequently, he celebrated another Holy Mass at Archbishop’s House in the morning of the 21st. It is after this second Mass, that he received information of the bomb attack at St. Anthony’s Church and he rushed to Kotahena to ascertain the situation and try to console those who had been affected,” the statement said.

The Catholic Church added that Fernando has tried to defend himself by dragging the Cardinal into a fictitious creation of his mind.

“Once again we affirm categorically that the Cardinal and the Bishops as well as the Catholic clergy were in no way made aware of this plot by anyone and so the allegation is baseless. We wish to therefore condemn this puerile attempt of Fernando to find excuses for his own grave misdeed and cast unjustified and unfounded aspersions on His Eminence. We reiterate that we fully trust the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to render justice to the hundreds of innocent people who lost their lives or were maimed for life due to, both the hateful actions of the terrorists and the shameful inaction of the political and administrative as well as intelligence officials of that time, who are responsible for this mindless carnage of human beings. Justice must prevail at all cost.”