new clashes in the archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly

The priests question the apostolic administrator Msgr. Andrews Thazhath, appointed by Pope Francis last August. The center of the dispute is always the “unified” rite of the Eucharistic celebration that the Synod of this Eastern-rite Church adopted, but the local community does not accept. In April, the pontiff wrote to the archdiocese: “We cannot create division, we cannot afford to cause scandal.”

Kochi () – Tensions have not subsided in the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, where the conflict over the “unified” liturgy adopted by the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church has been strongest for some time. The priests of the archdiocese yesterday issued a very harsh note against the apostolic administrator, Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, elected by Pope Francis last August after the resignation of Archbishop Vicar Antony Kariyil, who had decided not to go ahead with the ‘implementation of liturgical reform. in the archdiocese precisely because of strong opposition from the clergy and local communities.

The priests accuse the apostolic administrator of having transformed “our mother”, the archdiocese, into a “police state”. They refer to the request for protection that Msgr. Thazhath presented to the police, which is not consistent with Pope Francis’ invitation to be “shepherds smelling like sheep.” The priests ask that Bishop A Kariyil (the former metropolitan vicar who submitted the resignation) be granted permission to live within the boundaries of the archdiocese. They also insist once again on the recognition and approval at the local level of the Eucharistic liturgy totally oriented towards the faithful as a liturgical variant, along with the full restitution of some losses suffered by the archdiocese as a result of erroneous real estate transactions that took place in 2017. The signatories to the document declare that until these requests are met, statutory payments from parishes to the archdiocese will not be deposited and that the archdiocesan administrator and his supporters will not be invited to any ceremonies.

This new chapter of the confrontation began when Archbishop Thazhath affirmed the need for the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly to comply, like the other 34 dioceses of the Syro-Malabar Church, with the commitment adopted in Advent to have a single modality for the celebration of the Holy Qurbana, the Eucharistic liturgy of this Eastern Rite Church. After a discussion that lasted years, at the Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church, which took place in August 2021, it was decided that the celebrant should face the congregation during the first half of the celebration. , and then turn toward the altar at the consecration.

Pope Francis had given a very precise indication in this regard last April in a letter addressed to the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, inviting them “not to question the objective of the Synod”, which was to establish a single method for celebrate the Eucharistic liturgy in the Syro-Malabar Church. Although he acknowledges that he is asking the clergy and the local faithful “a difficult and painful step”, the Pontiff adds that “we cannot live divided, we cannot create division, we cannot afford to cause scandal”.