Cardinal Ranjith hits out at politicians over hypocrisy, broken promises and moral decline

The Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, says he is deeply disappointed by the conduct of politicians in the country. 

He made these remarks while attending a religious service organized to mark the 125th anniversary of Pitipana Maha Vidyalaya in Negombo.

The Cardinal further stated: 

‘‘In the world of politicians, this is what happens. They say one thing today and do the complete opposite tomorrow. For example, a former minister from a previous government is now accusing that the President is disrespecting the courts by commenting on court rulings. But that same minister supported the removal of our former Chief Justice by the government he served under, based on false allegations. At that time, he voted in favour of it. Now he claims the judiciary is being interfered with.’’

‘‘These double standards have existed in Parliament for a long time. At one time, one side accused the other side of being thieves, while the other side responded with the same accusation. In the end, they were all calling each other thieves. They themselves admitted what they were.’’

‘‘The judiciary must always remain free and independent in order to uphold justice and prevent injustice,’’ he added. 

‘‘Politicians should stop making false claims. Political leaders should not engage in shameless conduct or preach about principles they themselves never practiced.’’

‘‘For years, we have been urging governments to appoint clergy members to leadership positions in schools. Different governments repeatedly promised us teaching appointments for priests, nuns, and other religious figures, but they deceived us. We submitted lists of names to previous governments after they specifically requested them for teacher appointments for ordained brothers, sisters, and clergy members. Yet, those appointments were never granted.’’

‘‘I clearly remember a former political leader, who later became President, telling me directly at the Madhu Shrine that these appointments would be given within one and a half months.’’

‘‘That one and a half months has still not arrived even today. Afterward, that person even became the President of the country, but nothing happened. They were all empty promises,’’ the Cardinal said. 

‘‘We have become extremely disappointed with the political world because of this behaviour and this moral decline. Politics has become filled with people who have no principles, cannot stand by their word, spread falsehoods, attack others, and engage in actions that pollute society. Because of such conduct, we have reached a point where politics itself has become repulsive to us.’’

He further stated that he is extremely disappointed with the political world because of such behaviour and moral decline. 

He stated that politics had become filled with people who had no principles, could not stand by their word, spread falsehoods, attacked others, and engaged in actions that polluted society. He added that, as a result of such conduct, they had reached a point where politics itself had become repulsive to them.