COLOMBO:The Catholic Church today questioned as to why the authorities have failed to probe those who contaminate the minds of people with false religious beliefs.
Member of the Communication unit of Archdiocese of Colombo Rev. Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando came up with these remarks in reference to Pastor Jerome Fernando who is in the centre of controversy after the remarks he had made on Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam.
“Details on foreign men whom Pastor Jerome associated with and who sponsored him had come up in social media lately. It is shocking to note that no probe had been conducted with regard to those matters,” Fr. Fernando told a media briefing.
“One cannot rule out inter-religious conflicts as a result of fundamental statements like the ones which Pastor Jerome had made. We cannot forget the fact that there was an exercise to create disruption in the nation by creating conflicts as a result of remarks made by various extremists and political leaders. We would like to request from the people to be aware of persons who rouse ethnic and religious hatred,” he said.
“Everyone in this country has the right to follow any faith, but no one has the right to insult a religion followed by another. Such persons must be dealt with by common law,” he added.
Asked as to what should be done about the famous personalities who follow Pastor Jerome, Fr. Fernando said everyone has a right to believe in the faith of their choice.
“Jesus has spoken about false followers of Christianity, but one cannot utter about those without carrying out a proper biblical study,” Fr. Fernando concluded. ( Yohan Perera)Daily mirror
