Power-hungry elements sowing seeds of religious, communal disharmony – Catholic Church

BY Norman Palihawadane

Spokesman for the Catholic Church Rev Fr Cyril Gamini yesterday warned of sinister moves to create religious and communal disharmony.

Addressing the media in Colombo, Rev Fr Gamini said that there had been some events and developments threatening the country’s religious and communal harmony.

“These incidents may seem to be isolated, but it is becoming clear that they are part of a coordinated and deliberate endeavour.”

He called on the media, social media operatives to keep in mind that media freedom was closely associated with the people’s right to know the truth. It was the duty of media personnel to refrain from disseminating any news that would cause disharmony among religions and denigrate religious leaders, Fr Gamini said.

“We condemn the recent statements denigrating the Buddha and Buddhist religious practices. We call on the relevant authorities to take legal action against the vilification of religious leaders,” he said.

He urged the people to be vigilant and not to be misled by those greedy for power. Throughout history racial and religious conflicts have been created by some persons to gain political power. It is evident that the recent attempts to create disharmony, too, have been engineered with political objectives,” Rev Gamini said.