Danish European Mission's partner in Sri Lanka, the Evangelical Alliance in Sri Lanka, is deeply saddened by the arrest of Jerome Fernando. The pastor was arrested by police on December 1, allegedly for making controversial religious remarks in May 2023.
The priest's arrest highlights the growing intolerance towards freedom of expression. According to the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), it is a crime to promote war or incite national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.
Unfortunately, the Sri Lankan authorities are using the ICCPR Act of 2007 to trump freedom of expression, which the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ahmed Shaheed, has criticized. By using the ICCPR Act as a kind of blasphemy law, Sri Lankan authorities were able to accuse Pastor Jerome Fernando of insulting Buddhism because he compared Christianity to other religions in a speech.
Og fordi denne sammenligning faldt ud til Jesu fordel, blev han anholdt, vurderer generalsekretær Samuel fra Dansk Europamission.
"One can question whether it was wise for this sermon to be posted on social media when the church should have known that it was taking a risk. But on the other hand, both the Sri Lankan Constitution and the ICCPR guarantee freedom of expression."
Bold preaching bears fruit
"Fernando's church is very bold. It's a mega church that built the Miracle Dome in Colombo with a capacity of 5000 people. Some would also say that the church is too bold. But when Jerome is arrested, we all rally around him and support him."
"One of the employees of our partner organization has shared that several of his Buddhist childhood friends have come to personal faith in Jesus through Miracle Dome Church. So while the boldness is questionable, there is evidence of good fruits of the church's work."
"Since 2010, Danish European Mission has worked with the Evangelical Alliance to support Christians in Sri Lanka who are at risk of persecution and discrimination, including providing legal aid, distributing Bibles to Christians who are so poor they cannot afford a Bible, and providing self-help assistance to poor church planters. Pray that the charges against Pastor Jerome Fernando will be dropped so that he can resume his ministry," concludes Secretary General Samuel Nymann Eriksen.
