9 August 2023 10:18 am Views - 132
By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana
At least 56 members of clergy belonging to various religions are currently serving prison sentences for various crimes, Parliament was informed yesterday.
State Minister Anuradha Jayaratne who responded to an oral question raised by MP Dullas Alahapperuma in the House, said there are members of clergy belonging to all four religions in prison for various crimes.
Accordingly, 48 members of the Buddhist clergy, three Hindu priests, one Catholic priest and four Islamic priests are serving prison sentences for various crimes according to the answer given by State Minister Jayaratne.
“Nineteen members of the clergy have been found guilty of molesting children while four are held in suspicion of molesting children. Four members are held for rape, five are held in connection with murder, three for financial crimes, and three are held on suspicion of treasure hunting. In addition, two are held for grave sexual crimes and one for molesting a minor,” he said.
MP Alahapperuma said that members of the clergy in Sri Lanka tend to lose respect as in the case of MPs.
“There should be a system to discipline the clergy,”
he added.
“We have seen filth being used by members of Parliament during sessions. All 225 members have lost people’s respect as a result. The members of the clergy in this country will suffer the same fate soon if discipline is not brought about among them,” MP Alahapperuma said.