Church in Sri Lanka has condemned the local media for its attack on the church leaders over their anti-abortion stance.
Church leaders in Sri Lanka had opposed the government's decision to allow abortion in a broader range of circumstances. Following it, local media attacked the religious leaders for imposing their views. Last month, an article in the Ravaya newspaper for example said that "minority" priests and Catholics in the country were trying to force their own views on society.
Media started questioning whether abortion policy in Sri Lanka should be influenced by the Catholic Church.
In response, Bishop Winston S. Fernando, president of the Sri Lankan Catholic Bishops' Conference, has asked local media to stop attacking the church.
"Anyone is free to accept or reject the teaching, but no one can cast aspersions on the teachers or writers," said Fernando, in a statement on Oct. 6.
The bishop claimed that media freedom does not constitute a right to target religious leaders.
"We can't accept either condemnation of the Catholic teaching on morality or any personal attacks, insults or disrespectful remarks of the authorized teachers of the Catholic Church," he said, according to UCA News.com.
"The Catholic Church has the mandate and the right to teach whether the faithful or other people accept the teaching or not," he added.
Sri Lanka has approved legislation to be presented to the parliament which would allow abortion when a pregnancy is due to rape or if a fetus is diagnosed with a 'lethal' congenital malformation.
