• Supports justice and accountability via courts 

Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith yesterday (10) said the Catholic Church considered capital punishment “inadmissible”, following the sentencing to death of former Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.

In a statement, Cardinal Ranjith said the Archdiocese of Colombo remained in “total solidarity” with the victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks and continued to seek the identification of the mastermind or masterminds behind the attacks, as well as all others associated with them.

He said the Church’s position on capital punishment was based on paragraph 2,267 of the New Revision (2018) of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

“In keeping with paragraph 2,267 (New Revision, 2018) of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, capital punishment is inadmissible because it violates human dignity. We don’t agree on any imposition of the death penalty in the context of this teaching of the Church,” he said.

However, Cardinal Ranjith stressed the Church continued to seek justice for the victims through the country’s legal system.

“We are desirous of seeking justice for the victims according to the laws of the country,” he said.

He also stressed the importance of educating the public and authorities on preventing organised or extremist attacks at places of worship and other locations.

“We are also conscious that people should be educated with regard to the need to prevent any more organised or extremist attacks in any place of religious worship or in any other place in the country. All those who are in authority should always do their best to prevent such disasters from afflicting anybody,” he said.

Cardinal Ranjith further said the Catholic Church had full confidence in the independence of the Judiciary and did not wish to interfere with judicial proceedings or decisions.

“At the same time, we wish to stress that we repose full confidence in the independence of the Judiciary and don’t wish to interfere in any way in its deliberations or decisions,” he said.

He also emphasised that the Church was not seeking revenge in the aftermath of the attacks.

“The Catholic Church does not seek revenge,” Cardinal Ranjith said, referring to the position of former Pope St. John Paul II that individuals should forgive from the heart, while civil society and legal systems should maintain public order and uphold justice and accountability through the established Judiciary.

The remarks came after Jayasundara and Fernando were sentenced to death in connection with the Easter Sunday attacks, which targeted churches and hotels in several parts of Sri Lanka on 21 April 2019.

The attacks killed more than 260 people and injured hundreds of others.