VATICAN-INDIA The new cardinal of Kerala and the rift between the Syro-Malabarians

Francis’ decision to assign the purple to Bishop George Koovakkad – 51, responsible for organizing papal trips – and not to the new Major Archbishop Thattil, means that within a few months this priest who works in the Vatican will be the the only cardinal elector belonging to that eastern rite, deeply divided in recent years by the confrontation over the liturgy. A wound that remains open.

Mumbai () – One of the most surprising appointments among the 21 new cardinals announced on Sunday by Pope Francis, refers to India, with the purple awarded to Bishop George Koovakkad, a close collaborator of the pontiff and responsible for the organization of papal trips since 2020, after having served for some years in Vatican diplomacy. Koovakkad, 51, is a Syro-Malabar priest of the Changanacherry archdiocese originally from Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala.

It had already happened before that a pontiff granted the purple to the organizer of papal trips, but until now it had always happened as a tribute to prelates who had completed this service and were very close to 80 years old, the age at which a cardinal loses his right to participate in a conclave. But in this case the new cardinal will become one of the youngest in the college of cardinals, and continues to perform his duties alongside Pope Francis. On the other hand, in a few months he will be the only cardinal elector belonging to the Syro-Malabar Church, the largest Eastern rite Catholic community in India, whose heart is Kerala. On April 19, in fact, the major archbishop emeritus George Alencherry will turn 80, while his successor Raphael Thattil – elected last January by the Synod of this Church deeply divided in recent years by confrontations over the liturgy – will not He was included by Francis among the new cardinals.

Commenting on Koovakkad’s appointment, Senior Archbishop Thattil stated that the Syro-Malabar Church “is proud of this faithful son.” While the archbishop-elect of Changanacherry, Bishop Thomas Tharayil, said in a message that the archdiocese of origin of the new cardinal is “extremely grateful to the Lord for this moment.” The prelate noted that the elevation of a priest to cardinal is “unusual, at least in the history of the Indian Church” and added that Koovakkad deserves it, because “he is a man of spiritual integrity and loyalty to the Church.” The new cardinal, he concluded, will be “a dynamic presence in the ecumenical Church.”

Beyond official comments, the idea dominates among the Syro-Malabar faithful that Pope Francis’ decision to create a priest like Koovakkad as a cardinal is also related to the divisions that remain very deep in the Syro-Malabar Church. “Traditionally it is the major archbishop who receives the cardinalate – remember a source from the archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, the largest diocese of those that follow this rite -. The first cardinal of Kerala was Archbishop Joseph Parecattil (1912-1987), who at that time presided over the Syro-Malabar Episcopal Council. Since then, the three major archbishops of the Syro-Malabar Church were made cardinals. But at this time the scenario of the Syro-Malabar Church is very problematic. Although Pope Francis told the Syro-Malabar bishops that any attempt at uniformity in the liturgy should not harm the unity of the Church, the decision on the celebration of the Holy Qurbana (the Syro-Malabar form of the Eucharistic celebration that now all priests should carry out half facing the people and half towards the altar ed.), has broken the unity of the Synod. “The faithful and priests of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly opposed this decision and accused the Synod of violating the very procedure of making a liturgical decision.”

The uniform mode of celebration officially came into effect in November 2021, but the confrontation continues to this day. “Chaos reigns in the archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly – continues the local source -. In 2021, Senior Administrator Archbishop Antony Kariyil had sided with the priests and faithful, but the Synod forced him to resign. The apostolic administrator Andrews Thazhath then tried to implement the decision with an iron fist and with the help of the police, but it was a total fiasco. Then the pontiff’s delegate (Slovak Archbishop Cyril Vasil, ed.) came, but he could do nothing. “The Vatican asked Cardinal George Alenchery, the major archbishop, to resign, while five of the synod bishops publicly expressed their differences of opinion regarding the confrontation over the liturgy.”

“The dispute was also key to the election of the new major archbishop – concludes this voice from Ernakulam-Angamaly -. The first task given to Raphael Thattil was to implement the decision of the synod in the archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly. But facing a wall against a wall, he sought a path of dialogue with the priests and faithful of the archdiocese, although this displeased the strongest group within the Synod.” This is why the decision to give the faithful of the Syrian Church Malabar a new cardinal not involved in the conflict.