By Easwaran Rutnam
Prophet Jerome Fernando, during his first public appearance today (Sunday) after being released from prison, said that he was a man of God, is genuine and cannot be finished.
Speaking to his congregation at a packed ‘Miracle Dome’ in Katunayake, Sri Lanka, Jerome Fernando said that he loves people of all faiths.
He also thanked the judiciary and the people of all religions for their compassion and forgiveness and the Chief Prelates (Mahanayakas) for their kindness.
Fernando was driven in a motorcade to the ‘Miracle Dome’ and greeted by hundreds of worshipers who went down on their knees as he walked in.
He told the congregation that among those present in his church today (Sunday) were a former Superintendent of Prisons Jagath Weerasinghe and a Chief Jailor.
The pastor, who calls himself a ‘prophet of God’, told his congregation that while in jail he was offered a thick mattress.
However, he says he refused to accept the mattress and instead offered it to a former LTTE cadre who was in his cell.
Pastor Jerome Fernando also said that investigators could not find any evidence of money laundering.
He said that all the money collected by his church goes to promote the word of God and not for his personal gain.
“After 8 months of financial investigations they have now realized that I don’t take money from the church. Whatever I am doing here is not for me to buy another house. This is for the name of Jesus,” he said while the offertory was collected from the church.
Fernando, who also thanked the National Christain Evangelical Alliance, for at least accepting that he was a man of God, said that he is arguably the most persecuted Christan in Sri Lanka.
The preacher also “thanked” the media for the free publicity given to him. Fernando says he would have had to pay huge amounts of money for so much publicity.
Jerome Fernando was granted bail by the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court last week but was banned from travelling overseas.
The preacher was ordered to be released on a cash bail of Rs. 500,000 and two personal bails of Rs. 10 million each.
He was banned from leaving the country as investigations are still ongoing.
Fernando was granted bail after spending Christmas and New Year behind bars. (Colombo Gazette)
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