Catholic Bishops denounce smear campaign against Cardinal Ranjith

The Catholic Bishops' Conference in Sri Lanka (CBCSL) has issued a statement expressing its unwavering support to His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo.

The statement categorically refutes defamatory claims directed at His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, characterising these narratives as calculated attempts to discredit the Cardinal and obstruct the Church's pursuit of truth and accountability for the victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

The CBCSL addressed recent allegations suggesting that the Cardinal is leveraging the Easter Sunday tragedy as a pretext to extend his tenure as Archbishop. The Conference categorically rejected these claims, labelling them as "completely false propaganda" and "a despicable attempt to mislead the public by distorting the truth".

"The main reason for this [propaganda] is to undermine the efforts of His Eminence the Cardinal and the Sri Lankan Catholic Church to uncover the truth behind the barbaric attacks that took place seven years ago... and to secure justice for the victims," the statement read.

The statement read: “When a Bishop of a Catholic Diocese in any part of the world reaches the age of 75, he is obliged by canon law (Canon Law 401) to submit his letter of retirement to His Holiness the Pope. However, the retirement will officially take effect only after His Holiness approves it. Therefore, as it has been in the past, on certain occasions, the tenure of Bishops could be extended further. Accordingly, only His Holiness the Pope has the full authority to decide the date on which the retirement of a Bishop will officially take effect.”

Confirming that His Eminence has already submitted his retirement letter upon reaching the age of 75, the CBCSL emphasised that his continued leadership is a matter of fulfilling his canonical duties while awaiting the decision of the Holy See.

"His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has rendered a great service to the Universal Catholic Church and the local Catholic Church, and he has stood with the sincere intention of bringing truth and justice to the victims of the Easter Sunday Bomb attack," the statement noted.

"The CBCSL and all the Catholics of the Sri Lankan Church appreciate the untiring efforts of His Eminence, and we would also like to emphasise by this that we all extend our fullest support to him," The CBCSL noted.