Sri Lankan Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has sparked controversy by banning girls from serving as altar servers in his archdiocese. His decision, based on conservative theological views, contradicts Pope Francis's 2021 decree allowing both women and girls to serve as lectors and altar servers.
Nearly two months after it was written, a letter from Sri Lanka n Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo has been published, banning girls from serving as altar servers in his archdiocese. In the October 22, 2024, letter to priests, Ranjith stated that some parishes in the Archdiocese of Colombo had appointed girls to serve at the altar, which he views as a potential pathway to the priesthood.
He emphasized that only young boys should take on this role, as altar service is one of the key sources of vocations to the priesthood in Sri Lanka. Ranjith argued that since women cannot be ordained as priests, the practice of having girls serve at the altar would diminish the number of candidates entering the seminary. He instructed priests to comply with the decision and stated that it should not be altered at their discretion. The Cardinal’s stance is a reflection of his more conservative theological views, which have earned him the nickname “little Ratzinger,” due to his similarity to the late Pope Benedict XVI. His decision to ban girl altar servers has raised eyebrows, particularly as Pope Francis lifted the ban on girls serving in 2021. Pope Francis’s 2021 decree formalized the ability of both women and girls to serve as lectors and altar servers, a practice long established in Western countries but not previously formalized. Ranjith’s ban challenges these reforms, as it adheres to the traditional belief that the role of altar server is tied to priestly vocations, which are exclusively male in the Catholic Church. While Pope Francis has advocated for the inclusion of women in leadership roles within the Church, the question of women’s participation in altar service remains a contentious issue in some parts of the global south, which tend to be more conservative
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