Justice Minister speaks out on disrobing Gnanasara Thero

June 20, 2018 03:28 pm

Minister of Justice, Thalatha Athukorala stated that the Commissioner General of Buddhist Affairs has no authority to disrobe a Buddhist monk.

She made this comment in a response to the letter sent by the Deputy Prelate (Anu Nayaka) of Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Maha Sanga Sabha of the Siam Nikaya, Ven. Kotapitiya Rahula Thero regarding the disrobing of Ven. Galadoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) organization, after imprisonment.

With regard to the prevailing law, the only authorized party to disrobe a Buddhist monk is the Sangha Council to which a monk belongs, and Commissioner General has no say in the matter, further stated the minister in her response letter.

The Commissioner General can only disrobe a Buddhist monk on the orders of the Mahanayake Thero of the relevant Nikaya.

Disclaimer: All the comments will be moderated by the AD editorial. Abstain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or slanderous. Please avoid outside hyperlinks inside the comment and avoid typing all capitalized comments. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by flagging them(mouse over a comment and click the flag icon on the right side). Do use these forums to voice your opinions and create healthy discourse.