It was reported that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Foreign Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Pieris are set to visit the Vatican, to brief His Holiness, the Pope on legal actions taken against suspects behind the Easter Sunday attack. The Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith had condemned this saying that the government is attempting to conceal the truth behind the attacks and the progress made in relation to the same: https://www.newswire.lk/2021/09/08/watch-cardinal-slams-pms-fms-proposed-visit-to-vatican/. However, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that the purpose of the visit is to participate in an international symposium and at no stage has the Prime Minister requested nor has he received an invitation to visit the Vatican for an audience with His Holiness, the Pope. Read more here: https://www.newswire.lk/2021/09/08/no-meeting-with-the-pope-foreign-ministry-statement-on-pms-italy-visit/.