Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith prepares legal action against Wimal Weerawansa over explosive Easter Sunday claims. Accusations suggest prior knowledge of 2019 attacks, but Church officials label them “false and baseless.”
The Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, is preparing to issue a formal reprimand to National Freedom Front leader Wimal Weerawansa over controversial remarks made about the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.
According to Rev. Fr. Cyril Gamini, the Media Spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Colombo, the Cardinal is demanding that Weerawansa retract and correct a false statement suggesting he had prior knowledge of the Easter Sunday bombings. The disputed remarks were initially made during a television interview and later published on a prominent news website.
Weerawansa had stated that Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith did not attend the Easter service at Kochchikade on April 21, 2019, implying it may have been due to a “divine warning.” He further claimed that the Cardinal’s absence on that particular day was unprecedented and suggested this hinted at advance awareness of the coordinated suicide bombings that killed over 260 people.
At a press briefing, Father Gamini strongly refuted the claims, stating that they were completely false and misleading. He clarified that the Cardinal traditionally leads the midnight Easter Vigil Mass at St. Lucia’s Cathedral in Kotahena, which is regarded by the Catholic Church as the main Easter celebration.
“In 2019, as in previous years, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith conducted the midnight mass on Easter Eve,” Father Gamini explained. “He does not customarily preside over the Easter Sunday morning services.”
The Archdiocese views Weerawansa’s statements as damaging to the Cardinal’s reputation and a distortion of Catholic traditions. The concern, Father Gamini noted, is that such misleading statements can create confusion among the public and spread dangerous conspiracy theories surrounding the already sensitive Easter Sunday attacks.
Father Gamini acknowledged the importance of freedom of speech, but emphasized that it must not be used to promote falsehoods or to undermine public trust in religious leaders. “The right to expression does not grant the right to lie,” he said.
The Church has already begun taking legal steps. An injunction will soon be issued against Wimal Weerawansa, compelling him to retract the defamatory statements and publish an official correction.
As Sri Lanka continues to seek justice and accountability over the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, this controversy involving a prominent political figure and the Catholic Church underscores the ongoing tensions and sensitivities surrounding the attack and its aftermath.
