{"id":151062,"date":"2025-07-28T18:29:24","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T01:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=151062"},"modified":"2025-07-28T18:29:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T01:29:24","slug":"lgbtqia-debate-president-anura-kumara-dissanayake-rule-of-desire-vs-cardinal-malcolm-ranjiths-moral-governance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2025\/07\/28\/lgbtqia-debate-president-anura-kumara-dissanayake-rule-of-desire-vs-cardinal-malcolm-ranjiths-moral-governance\/","title":{"rendered":"LGBTQIA Debate: President Anura Kumara Dissanayake \u201cRule of Desire\u201d vs. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith\u2019s Moral Governance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shenali D Waduge<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith\u2019s recent statement warning against legalizing same-sex marriage and LGBTQIA+ ideology in Sri Lanka is not merely a religious outcry \u2014 it is a national alarm echoed by the majority of the populace heard across party lines, faiths, and generations. The President\u2019s response echoes the opposite, and demands a far more urgent rebuttal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      https:\/\/www.newswire.lk\/2025\/07\/27\/how-can-two-men-build-a-family-cardinal-slams-same-sex-marriages\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adaderana\/posts\/sri-lankas-cardinal-ranjith-opposes-same-sex-marriage-concept-read-morehttpswww\/1066621652301862\/<\/a>  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      https:\/\/www.thecolombopost.org\/2025\/07\/cardinals-opposition-to-same-sex-marriages\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has claimed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can we ask someone to deny & compartmentalize their feelings in the laws we make? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we prevent someone\u2019s desires from being legally recognized? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isn\u2019t that unfair?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/v\/19Xs7NcdGx<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This line of reasoning \u2014 that people\u2019s feelings and desires should shape national laws \u2014 is not just morally irresponsible. It is legally untenable, socially dangerous, and constitutionally reckless & one unexpected of a sitting President.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President\u2019s statement reveals Public Pulse Ignored<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President\u2019s statement reveals a growing disconnect from the Public Pulse.<\/strong>
Across temples, homes, and classrooms, the people are speaking \u2014 but the President refuses to listen.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The people are asking: Who gave you the mandate to rewrite our morality?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I. Why feelings are not a Foundation for Law<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rule of law exists to regulate feelings and desires \u2014 not to indulge them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foundational Legal Principle: Fiat justitia ruat caelum\u201d<\/em> \u2014 Let justice be done though the heavens fall.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The law does not bend to individual emotions or private preferences. It stands as a collective boundary that separates moral order from personal chaos. If desire becomes law, then every criminal, every addict, every predator can claim it\u2019s how I feel\u201d as justification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where does this end?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      If LGBTQIA+ ideology is accepted on the basis of feelings,\u201d what of the adult who desires a minor?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      What of the thief who feels\u201d entitled to someone else’s wealth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      What of the person who identifies\u201d as a cat, tree, or dragon and demands state accommodation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      A murderer who feels\u201d he has a right to kill or a rapist who feels he has a right to rape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Or a sibling who desires incestuous marriage?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Shall necrophiliacs and zoophiles next demand legal recognition of their<\/em> feelings\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laws exist not to cater to personal feelings but to protect the most vulnerable \u2014 including children and future generations \u2014 from harm disguised as personal desire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the President prepared to amend the Penal Code every time someone\u2019s feeling\u201d is hurt by its prohibitions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If so entire law books have to be abolished!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

II. Why Laws exist: Order, Not Indulgence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In ancient times, there were no gates, no judges, no CCTV, no police. That simplicity was built on common moral values and social trust. People knew right from wrong. Good from bad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But today, laws, regulations, and courts exist to contain:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Human impulses<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Unethical conduct<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Harmful desires<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To dismantle the law in the name of individual feelings is to abolish civilization & create chaos and confusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal Maxim: Ubi jus ibi remedium\u201d<\/em> \u2014 Where there is a right, there is a remedy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But rights do not emerge from feelings. They arise from duties, natural law, social harmony, and public interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

III. LGBTQIA+ is not a Human Rights issue \u2014 It\u2019s an Ideological Trojan Horse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The attempt to mask Western-funded gender ideology as a human rights campaign must be exposed for what it truly is: ideological colonization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith\u2019s warning echoes what many Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims also fear: a global, donor-driven agenda to deconstruct family, religion, and national identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Cardinal rightly said, this government is playing with fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IV. Constitutional and Legal Grounds to Reject the LGBTQIA+ Push<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka is not bound by any international treaty to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Recognize same-sex marriage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Teach transgender ideology in schools<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Repeal Sections 365\/365A<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      The 2024 Gender Equity Bill-Supreme Court determination issued by the new Chief Justice clearly nullifies any attempt to legalize homosexuality or promote LGBTQIA ideology in Sri Lanka as being against the Constitution & social & moral standards of this Nation & its civilizational history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, our Constitution (Article 9) upholds the primacy of Buddhism and the moral guidance of the Buddha Sasana \u2014 for both Sangha and laypersons. This includes upholding public morality, social stability, and cultural integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Penal Code Sections 365 and 365A, amended in 1995 and 2006, were designed to protect children from same-sex sexual abuse \u2014 not to criminalize private adult conduct to satisfy their sexual urges\/feelings. These laws are protective, not discriminatory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To repeal them under international pressure is not progress.\u201d It opens the door to legal ambiguity that endangers children \u2014 weakening protections against same-sex sexual exploitation and grooming of minors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

V. Legal Authority against Foreign Meddling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka is under no obligation to accept ideological demands from the UN, IMF, or Western embassies a fact the current Government will have to accept like it or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) prohibits foreign interference in domestic legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      The UN Charter (Article 2.7) states: Nothing shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, UN Special Rapporteurs, Western embassies, and donor agencies have no legal mandate to dictate Sri Lanka\u2019s education content, legal codes, or moral direction dangling various carrots in front of the President or his Govt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VI. Reject the slippery slope of \u2018Rights Based on Desires\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If laws are changed every time someone says, This is how I feel,\u201d I have a right to how I feel \u2013 the law must accommodate my feelings\u201d<\/em> then the law loses meaning. Society collapses into chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not inclusion \u2014 this is institutionalized confusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children are now being told they can be cats, genderless, or anti-human. This is not progress. This is identity psychosis, financed by foreign billionaires and enabled by complicit leaders. Do parents raise children to be indoctrinated to thinking & behaving like a cat or a tree?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parents deserve the right to raise their children free from ideological confusion \u2014 children must not become pawns in foreign-funded social experiments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VII. A Call to All Religious and Civic Leaders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Dissanayake\u2019s views must be publicly challenged before his feelings\u201d become the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      No one voted to erase Sri Lanka\u2019s cultural identity.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      No leader has the right to legalize moral decay.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a president says law must follow desire,\u201d then he is no longer fit to uphold law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VIII. A President disconnected from the People<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Dissanayake did not win the mandate of the people to change our moral and cultural foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His rule of desire\u201d statement represents the promotion of a dangerous external ideology \u2014 one that the majority of Sri Lankans reject<\/strong> across every religious, ethnic, and political lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has betrayed the people\u2019s trust<\/strong> <\/strong>by siding with foreign-funded ideologues over Sri Lanka\u2019s civilizational heritage.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a President chooses desire\u201d over duty, he is no longer leading. He is indulging.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is no longer just about LGBTQIA+. This is about a government \u2014 hijacked by foreign influence \u2014 attempting to socially re-engineer an entire civilization without public consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IX. Religious Leaders must act now \u2014 Silence is Complicity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has courageously sounded the alarm. Now it is time for:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      The Mahanayakas of the Buddhist clergy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      The Muslim Ulema Councils<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      The Hindu Kovils and Saiva institutions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Catholic communities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

to issue public<\/strong> <\/strong>joint declarations<\/strong> <\/strong>rejecting the President\u2019s remarks.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is no longer about gay rights.\u201d This is about<\/strong> <\/strong>a government willing to rewrite law to indulge lust and confuse children<\/strong> <\/strong>\u2014 while threatening national identity, child protection, and moral governance.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When faith leaders speak as one, the nation cannot be divided.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

X. A National Movement of Conscience must begin Now: Hold MPs Accountable<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We call on all Members of Parliament:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Where do you stand?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Will you stand with the moral values of the people \u2014 or the dangerous ideology of rule by desire\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We call on teachers, parents, lawyers, artists, youth leaders, and monks:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Raise your voice in schools, temples, villages, and cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Do not be silent as your country is ideologically colonized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We call on the media:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Will you question the President\u2019s justification of desire as law?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Will you inform the people \u2014 or censor the truth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is<\/strong> <\/strong>not a partisan issue. This is a civilizational issue<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the President will not defend our children, our culture, or our Constitution \u2014 the people will.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We the people, of all faiths and backgrounds, say NO:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      No to foreign ideological colonization<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      No to rewriting laws to suit emotional whims<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      No to foreign-funded psychological reprogramming of our children<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      No to silence from our leaders<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let the Cardinal\u2019s warning echo in temples, mosques, churches, and classrooms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We defeated terrorism with unity. Now we must defeat ideological colonization with the same courage.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us rise \u2014 not with hatred, but with heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us teach our children not confusion, but clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us build a nation that honors truth, not temporary trends with lifelong damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shenali D Waduge<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shenali D Waduge Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith\u2019s recent statement warning against legalizing same-sex marriage and LGBTQIA+ ideology in Sri Lanka is not merely a religious outcry \u2014 it is a national alarm echoed by the majority of the populace heard across party lines, faiths, and generations. The President\u2019s response echoes the opposite, and demands a far […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-151062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shenali-waduge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151062\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}