News Today: Catholic Church rejects Gammanpila’s Easter attack accusations

The Catholic Church has officially rejected accusations made by former MP Udaya Gammanpila against two government officials in the Presidential Commission report on the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. Gammanpila’s disclosure has been labeled as baseless by the Church, and a formal statement will be issued soon. Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando, Director of Communications for the Archdiocese of Colombo, confirmed that the Church would clarify its position on both the Presidential report and Gammanpila’s claims about Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith.

In a sermon on Sunday, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith dismissed the accusations, expressing concerns about the integrity of the investigation. “A committee twisted the facts to involve two officers. Some have suddenly become heroes by speaking about the Easter Sunday attacks, but this is not what we expected,” the Cardinal said. He reiterated the Church’s commitment to uncovering who provided ammunition to the extremists and why prior warnings were ignored, vowing not to rest until justice is served.