Catholic Church rebuffs Gammanpila’s allegations

The Catholic Church is to officially reject the accusations that have been made against two government officials in the Presidential Commission report on Easter Sunday attacks, which was revealed by former Minister Udaya Gammanpila yesterday.

The Church is expected to officially reject yesterday’s disclosures by Mr. Gammanpila and the accusations that were made against Cardinal Ranjith by making an official statement today.

“We will come up with an official statement today and reveal our stand on the presidential report and the allegations made against Cardinal Ranjith by Mr. Gammanpila,” Director Communications Archdiocese of Colombo Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando told Daily Mirror.

However, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith during a sermon on Sunday already rejected the accusations made against the two state officers.

“A committee was appointed to further look at the report submitted by the Presidential Commission. This committee shrewdly dragged two officers of the present government. This was done to twist the facts. Some persons who were silent for a long time have suddenly started talking about the Easter Sunday attacks. They have become heroes overnight. This is not what we expected,” the Cardinal said during a Sunday sermon at a church in Hapugoda.

“Some say that I utter various things at times. We will not stop talking about the Easter Sunday attacks till we find out as to who supplied ammunition to the seven Muslim extremists and who trained them on handling explosives. We cannot rest until we find out as to why prior warnings were neglected. Also, those who fled abroad ignoring prior warnings will have to be dealt with as well,” he added.

He recalled that there were Buddhists and even Muslims among those killed in the Easter Sunday bomb attack on April 21, 2019.