Catholic Church Declares ‘Black Sunday’

The Archdiocese of Colombo has declared 7 March as Black Sunday, saying they were not satisfied with the final report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday bombings.

It is reported that Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith will hold a special Media briefing regarding ‘Black Sunday’ this evening (2).

The Archdiocese of Colombo, which met on 28 February, has decided to declare 7 March as Black Sunday as a day of protest against the lack of justice for those who died and were affected by the Easter Sunday bombings. Catholics are expected to attend Mass dressed in black on that day.

The Archdiocese clergy have discussed the contents of the report put out by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday terror attacks in depth. The clergy have unanimously decided that they should not be silent anymore regarding the matter of delivering justice for those who died and were injured in the attack.

Furthermore, they have reportedly stated that the hopes they had the Government would deliver justice have been shattered now.

It has also been decided to hold special masses to remember those who died and were wounded in the terror attacks during the holy period of Lent.

The clergy have proposed to take action until the information on the responsible persons and their true intentions are revealed.

The final report of the Commission was handed over to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 1 February and then handed over to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on 23 February. The Archbishop of Colombo and Mahanayaka Theras of Malwathu and Asgiri Chapters also received PCoI report copies yesterday (1).

The Commission which was appointed by former President Maithripala Sirisena ended hearings on 31 January.

(Source: Ceylon Today – By Buddhika Samaraweera and Shiran Ranasinghe)