Catholic Bishops' conference urges the public to remain calm

Colombo (News 1st): Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith said that he believes the law will be enforced over the multiple explosions that were experienced in the country yesterday (21). His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith went onto note;

"Despite the pain caused to us, we must not afflict pain on anyone. We are not fully aware as to who is actually behind this. Just like the tip of the iceberg, we do not know the whole picture. Therefore, there might be a more powerful group behind this unfortunate group of youth. Maybe those involved might not belong to the said nationality. Therefore we must not make this an opportunity to harass or assault anyone. This cannot be justified through any religious belief. At this point, I would like to state that after all funeral activities are complete, we must return to normalcy, and reconcile with each other. If any wrong was committed by anyone, such individuals can only be punished by law. We cannot punish anyone according to our wish. We cannot take the law into our hands. The law must be enforced. Punishing those responsible for the attack is the responsibility of law enforcement authorities and we believe they will fulfil their responsibilities. We express our deepest condolences at this moment. It was revealed that there was a pre-warning over the possibility of such an incident taking place. This was even revealed through the prime minister while the statement made by a certain minister is proof in this regard. If this was known, why did they not prevent the attack and why did they act in such a manner? This is a question all of us have. How can the father of a minister ask his son not to attend church? Why did the minister not inform the public? I cannot accept this. If the minister had a reasonable suspicion that such an incident may take place, and if he did not go to church, he should have informed someone in this regard and prevented people from attending church. Regardless of the political party that comes into power, for God's sake, we request the government and its leaders, to enforce the law in the country and to further strengthen intelligence units, and to ensure such efforts to create division in the country will not be repeated in the future."

Several religious leaders, MPs and ministers met with His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith this morning (April 22), to express their condolence over the tragic series of attacks that took place yesterday (April 21). Chairman of the Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka Venerable Banagala Upatissa Thero noted that the world is watching this tragic incident that took place in Sri Lanka. He expressed their deepest condolences to His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and noted that they will provide their fullest support. Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayaka and former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa called on the Archbishop of Colombo this morning. The Catholic Bishops' conference has expressed their deepest condolences for the tragedy that took place with the dawn of Easter Sunday. The conference, in its statement, states that the attack destroyed hundreds of lives and was a tragedy. The Catholic Bishops Conference also urged the public to remain calm, and to act wisely, and intelligently.