Thursday Apr 09, 2026
Thursday Apr 09, 2026
Thursday, 9 April 2026 00:23 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Colombo Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith
Sri Lankans must honour Colombo Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith for ‘hitting the nail right on its head’ over the Israeli-American war on Iran. The respected Archbishop declared that the entire humanity is undergoing pain and suffering due to the greed of one man wanting to rule the whole world. Adolf Hitler tried to become ‘Emperor of Europe’. What was his fate?, queried the Archbishop delivering the sermon at the midnight Easter Vigil Service at the St Lucia’s Cathedral, Kotahena in Colombo.
The leader of Sri Lanka’s minority Catholic community spoke out defiantly against the leader of the world’s most powerful nation, ‘who is showering bombs destroying neigbours’ and said this leader cannot be called Christian, because Christians love their neighbours and will not do what this man is currently doing, in an obvious reference to US President Donald Trump.
The Cardinal’s sermon has greater relevance in the backdrop of the temporary two weeks pause reportedly agreed on late 7 April night between the US and Iran to facilitate Pakistan-led talks, amidst fears that Donald Trump, describe by US Senator Bernie Sanders on Monday as ‘dangerous and mentally unbalanced’, may torpedo within days this much awaited break to end the reckless war through meaningful dialogue.
The Archbishop’s sermon has added significance in the context of the shocking silence of other religious, civil society, and business leaders in the country, including Pathfinders, Am-Chambers, Center for Policy Alternatives etc., even while every human being in the planet is disproportionately made to pay for an unprovoked and illegal war unleashed by the Israelis and the Americans directly on Iran but virtually on every living thing in the world.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith’s sermon is also a timely intervention to disconnect Trump’s team, particularly Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defence, misquoting the Bible to pray for “overwhelming violence against the enemy”, according to the American non- profit Public Broadcasting Service, PBS News.
According to PBS News, Hegseth, US Defence Secretary since January 2025, re-designated in September 2025 as “Secretary of War”commenced a monthly Christian Prayer series at the Pentagon last year with Hegseth, urging all Americans to pray in schools, churches and public centres for victory at war. The first prayer service after the war with Iran was on 25 March. PBS News reported that prayers invoked Biblical imagery from Psalms calling for “violent action against enemies”.
PBS also reported that Hegseth’s insertion of his Christian faith and rhetoric has come under scrutiny including his interest in the historical crusades.Meanwhile the ‘Americans United for Separation of Church and the State’ had filed a lawsuit to enforce a public records request for the monthly Christian prayer service.
It is quite obvious that given the ever widening protests in both the US and Israel against the war, Hegseth is trying to exploit religion to sustain the illegal war on Iran.
(The author is a former Ambassador to Iran)
