The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka, in alignment with Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Ranjith, has made a joint statement regarding the Easter Sunday bombing, emphasizing the need for a local inquiry with the involvement of foreign observers.
The statement, issued by the Catholic Church, quoted Bishop Harold Anthony Perera, who serves as the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka. In it, he declared unanimous agreement among the cardinal and bishops on the necessity of foreign observers participating in a fair local investigation of the Easter Sunday bombing.
Addressing concerns of potential discord between His Holiness Cardinal Ranjith and the Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Harold Anthony Perera clarified that there was no such division among them. He stated that the president’s attempt to suggest otherwise was unfounded.
Furthermore, Bishop Perera highlighted that the President had not recently met with him or the Bishops’ Conference, contrary to claims made in an interview with a German TV channel. However, he did acknowledge a meeting with the President that took place approximately a year ago, during which he had urged the release of the full report from the Presidential Commission related to the Easter Sunday attack.
