No truth in Cardinal stepping down as Archbishop of Colombo

Filling a gap of 22 years, His Holiness Don Albert Malcolm Ranjith was consecrated as the second Cardinal of Sri Lanka in 2010. He was appointed as the Archbishop of Colombo a year earlier in 2009. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has been a key figure in waging the battle, demanding justice for the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks.

In the meantime, we came across viral social media posts which claimed that His Holiness Malcolm Ranjith would retire from the position of Archbishop.

Social Media Posts:

Viral social media claims stated that Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith sent a letter to His Holiness Pope Francis, informing him that he is ready to retire as Archbishop of Colombo.

Archived Link

The posts in Sinhala were circulated on Facebook like this.

Facebook | Archived Link Facebook | Archived Link

These posts were viral on WhatsApp.

Many believed Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith was ready to retire from the post of Archbishop of Colombo, as seen in the below comments.

Therefore, we took steps to check the accuracy of this.

Fact Check:

Archdiocese of Colombo

The current archbishop of Colombo, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on 16 June 2009, is Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith. He is assisted in this role by the auxiliary bishops and is the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Colombo Province in Sri Lanka as it is the main Catholic diocese in Sri Lanka. More information about the Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo can be found here.

The Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, celebrated his 75th birthday a month ago in November. There was a discussion regarding his retirement letter even during that time.

Media Spokesman for the Archdiocese of Colombo

Media Spokesman of the Archdiocese of Colombo, Rev. Father Jude Chrysantha Fernando, rejected speculation in some media reports that His Eminence Rt. Rev. Dr. Malcom Cardinal Ranjith had decided to step down from the position of Colombo Archbishop.

He said that several inquiries were received from the media fraternity about the speculation that the Colombo Archbishop is to step down from his position. Fr. Chrysantha noted that there was no truth in these reports, and the Colombo Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has not taken such a decision yet. “We don’t know from where this news originated. There is no truth in these speculations,” he said. More information on this is here. Archived

Term of service for Archbishops, Bishops & Cardinals

Even though it was customary for Bishops to automatically retire at the age of 75, in 2014, a new directive issued by Pope Francis changed this Catholic Church law to allow non-cardinal bishops serving in the Vatican's bureaucracy to continue to hold their offices past the age of 75.

In a motu proprio (on his own initiative) issued in February 2014, the Pope stipulates that bishops serving in the Roman Curia now must submit their resignations once they reach the traditional retirement age but that it will be up to him to decide whether to accept them.

With this new motu proprio, the Pope is essentially harmonizing the resignation process for bishops serving at the Vatican with that for diocesan bishops. As a result, bishops must submit resignations at age 75 but can stay in office at the pope's discretion.

However, the new law does not affect cardinals serving at the Vatican, similar to that of Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, who are already treated like diocesan bishops in the resignation process, hence could hold office past the retirement age of 75.

Pope Francis lists a few reasons why bishops serving at the Vatican might be asked to continue, among them: "the importance of adequately completing a very fruitful project for the church" or "the importance of the contribution that the person can bring to the application of directives recently given by the Holy See.”

The second article of motu proprio states: " At reaching 75 years of age, non-cardinal heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia, prelate-superiors of the Roman Curia, and bishops who hold other offices tied to the Holy See, do not cease to hold their office ipso facto, but must present their resignation to the Supreme Pontiff. "

The fourth article specifies: "To take effect, the resignation ... must be accepted by the Supreme Pontiff, who will decide after he has examined all the circumstances."

In the fifth article, Pope Francis clarifies that there will be no time limit for the pope to decide whether to accept a bishop's resignation or to let him continue serving in his post.

Vatican Correspondent JOSHUA J. MCELWEE's full report can be reached here. Archived Link

Here is the list of 232 bishops who are still serving as bishops even though they are over the age of 75. Archived Link, 53 cardinals, including Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, are on this list who have crossed the age of 75 years. Also, two more bishops (Rathnapura & Badulla) in Sri Lanka continue to hold their offices past the age of 75.

Council of Cardinals

The Council of Cardinals, also known as the Council of Cardinal Advisers, is a group of cardinals of the Catholic Church appointed by Pope Francis to serve as his advisers. Announced on 13 April 2013, the council was formally established on 28 September of the same year.

The council currently has seven members, following the decision by Pope Francis to remove three of its members in late 2018 and the appointment of another in 2020.

Cardinals are appointed from time to time according to the intention of the Pope. On October 20, 2010, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI appointed 24 new Cardinals 2009. Among these cardinals, the only cardinal nominated from Asia was the Most Reverend Scholar, Dr Don Albert Malcolm Ranjith, the High Priest of the Western Province of Sri Lanka.

Appointment of Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith to the post of Cardinal

On October 24, 2010, the Holy Pope announced Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith's appointment to the Cardinal post from the Vatican. Accordingly, on November 20, 2010, His Eminence Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith became a Cardinal at St. Peter's Basilica with the conferment of the Cardinal Hat. His Eminence Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo was appointed to the position of Cardinal by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.

Also, filling the gap of 21 years, His Excellency Cardinal Don Albert Malcolm Ranjith was consecrated as the second Cardinal of Sri Lanka in the year of his 63^rd birthday.

Catholic Church Hierarchy Chart

The illustration below depicts the internal structure of a catholic church. It simplifies the hierarchy for individuals unfamiliar with a church’s hierarchical system. From a simple pyramid chart, it is clear that the pope is the highest-ranking church member, followed by the cardinals, bishops, priests, and deacons. At the bottom of the list, you have folks who go to church to pray.

Edrawmax | Archived Link

Cardinal Patabendige Don Malcolm Ranjith

Cardinal Patabendige Don Malcolm Ranjith was born on Nov. 15, 1947, at Polgahawela. He was ordained a priest on June 29, 1975, at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome by Pope Paul VI and was appointed as Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo. His Episcopal ordination was on June 17, 1991. He was appointed Bishop of Ratnapura on Nov. 2, 1995. In 2004, Bishop Ranjith was appointed as the Apostolic Nuncio to Indonesia and Timor Leste.

In June 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Malcolm Ranjith to Archbishop of Colombo as the 9^th Archbishop of Colombo at St. Lucia's Cathedral, Kotahena. The Pope later elevated him to the rank of cardinal on Oct. 20, 2010.

Archbishop Ranjith was awarded the Thomas Aquinas Medallion in the field of religious education by Thomas Aquinas College, California, USA (2007) and the 7^th International Award "Giuseppe Sciacca" by the president of the Republic of Italy for achievements in the cultural field (2008).

Archbishop Ranjith was the Secretary General of the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (2005-2009), one of only two Asians who held top positions in the Roman Curia. He was also Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for Evangelization of Peoples (2001-2004) and various Episcopal commissions: Member of the Restricted Committee of the National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS), Member of - Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences Office for Evangelization (OE), Coordinator - Children's Desk Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences Office for Evangelization (OE), Member of the Supreme Committee of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS), President - Pontifical Mission Societies, International (2001-2004), Member of the Pontifical Committee of International Eucharistic Congresses (2002-2009).

He served as secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka (1995-2001) and chairman of the National Commission for Justice, Peace, and Human Development.

Archbishop Ranjith is the president of the Catholic Bishop's Conference of Sri Lanka.

He is fluent in Sinhala, English, Tamil, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Indonesian, Greek, Latin and Hebrew. More information on this can be reached here.

Our fact check in Sinhala can be read here

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Conclusion:

Media Spokesman of the Archdiocese of Colombo, Fr. Jude Chrysantha Fernando, stated that the news claiming that the Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, is planning to retire from his position is false and that the Cardinal has not yet made any decision to retire. 

Even though it was customary for bishops to retire at the age of 75 automatically, a new directive issued by Pope Francis in 2014 allows even non-cardinal bishops serving in the Vatican's bureaucracy to continue to hold their offices past the age of 75. Cardinals serving at the Vatican, similar to that of Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, who are already treated like diocesan bishops in the resignation process, could hold the office past the retirement age of 75 and there are many such Cardinals all over the world as well.