By Norman Plaihawadana Courtesy The Island

All officials who received prior information about the Easter Sunday bombings but did not take any action to prevent them should be removed along with the country’s leadership, Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith said at the Sunday mass at St. Lucia’s Cathedral, Kotahena, yesterday.

This mass was held to commemorate those killed in the Easter Sunday attacks and invoke blessings on the injured.

The prelate said that the Easter Sunday bombings had come as a shock to him and he was still grief-stricken like millions of others. Not only the officials who had not acted on an intelligence warning of terror attacks but also the rulers were responsible for the tragic incidents.

The cardinal added that a large number of people had been killed and injured in the attack not because of God’s will but because of the evil of men.

Those who were incapable of taking responsibility must be removed from their positions and from the leadership of the country, the Cardinal said.

He said some terrorists were still at large and they thought they could escape punishment. If they were not punished by courts, there would be divine justice. Those who failed to punish those involved in acts of terror would be punished by God.

The cardinal added that those who were trying to use the tragedy to fulfill personal gains and political agendas would also be punished by God.

The Cardinal said that he was aware that some leements were after him, too, but he was not scared. “My life belongs to the people and God and I am ready to die anytime,” he said.

A large number of relatives of the victims of the bombings attended the mass under heavy security.