Cardinal tries to ban girls from being altar serversSri Lankan Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo has tried to ban girls from serving as altar servers in his archdiocese, on the grounds that the role of altar server is potentially part of the pathway to the male-only priesthood and having girls as altar servers could impact vocations. In a 22 October 2024 letter addressed to the priests of his diocese, which has since come to light, Ranjith said: “It has been brought to my knowledge that several parishes in the Archdiocese of Colombo have appointed girls as altar servers.“In this context,...