The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has welcomed the court verdict handed down against those convicted in connection with the devastating 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, but has made clear that justice cannot stop at the courtroom door. Church leaders are calling for a comprehensive and transparent investigation into the full circumstances surrounding one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the nation's history — an attack that claimed over 260 lives and left hundreds more injured across multiple churches and luxury hotels on April 21, 2019.
Church Responds to Landmark Verdict
Speaking to reporters following the announcement of the verdict, the Director of Mass Communications of the Archdiocese of Colombo, Rev. Fr. Jude Krishantha, expressed the Church's cautious but genuine appreciation for the judicial outcome. While acknowledging the verdict as a meaningful step toward accountability, he emphasized that the conviction of those directly involved should not be treated as the final chapter in the pursuit of justice for the victims and their families.
Fr. Krishantha made it unequivocally clear that the Church views the verdict as a beginning, not an end. The Catholic community, which bore the brunt of the attacks — with St. Anthony's Shrine in Kochchikade and St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo among the targeted sites — has long demanded answers that go far beyond identifying the perpetrators who carried out the bombings. The Church wants to know who enabled them, who ignored the warnings, and who, if anyone in positions of authority, failed in their duty to protect innocent lives.
Demands for a Full and Transparent Investigation
Central to the Church's demands is a thorough investigation into the intelligence failures that preceded the attacks. It has been widely reported and documented that Sri Lankan authorities received prior warnings about a potential terrorist strike in the days leading up to Easter Sunday. Despite these warnings, the attacks proceeded with catastrophic consequences. For the Church and the broader Catholic community in Sri Lanka, this remains one of the most troubling and unresolved aspects of the tragedy.
Church officials have consistently argued that justice for the Easter Sunday victims must include full accountability for those in positions of power who may have had foreknowledge of the attacks or who failed to act on credible intelligence. The verdict against the convicted individuals, while significant, does not address these deeper institutional and political questions that have haunted survivors and grieving families for years.
The call for a full probe also extends to understanding the broader network that supported and financed the attackers. The bombings were carried out by members of a local Islamist extremist group, National Thowheed Jamath, but questions remain about the extent of external support, radicalization pipelines, and whether there were any deliberate efforts to suppress intelligence before or after the attacks for political reasons.
Years of Struggle for Justice
Since the attacks, the Catholic Church, led prominently by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo, has been one of the most persistent and vocal advocates for justice. Cardinal Ranjith has repeatedly expressed frustration with the pace of investigations and legal proceedings, and has publicly accused successive governments of dragging their feet in delivering accountability. His unwavering stance has kept the issue alive in the national conversation and on the international stage.
The families of the victims have endured years of grief compounded by uncertainty and a painful sense that the full truth has been deliberately withheld. Many survivors continue to live with physical and psychological scars, and for them, the verdict — while offering some measure of relief — does not fully address the depth of their loss or the unanswered questions that remain.
National and International Implications
The Easter Sunday attacks were not only a tragedy for Sri Lanka's Catholic community but a watershed moment for the entire nation. The bombings exposed serious vulnerabilities in the country's security apparatus and raised profound questions about political accountability, religious extremism, and the protection of minority communities. The international community, including the Vatican and various human rights organizations, has also followed the case closely and supported calls for a full and independent investigation.
As Sri Lanka continues to navigate complex political and economic challenges, the Church's demand for a complete probe serves as a reminder that national healing cannot occur without truth and full accountability. Partial justice, the Church argues, is not justice at all.
Looking Ahead
The Catholic Church has made it clear that it will continue to monitor the situation closely and will not relent in its demands until every dimension of the Easter Sunday attacks has been thoroughly investigated and all those responsible — whether directly or indirectly — are held fully accountable. For the victims, their families, and an entire community still healing from unimaginable loss, nothing less will suffice.