Catholics of Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese of the Eastern Rite Syro-Malabar Church, who oppose the liturgy approved by their Church’s synod, burn an order from the pontifical delegate, Archbishop Cyril Vasil, on Aug. 17 in the southern Indian city of Kochi after it called on them to follow the Church-approved liturgy. (Photo: supplied)
By UCA News reporter
Aug 22 2023
The Eastern-rite Syro-Malabar Church appears on the brink of a split with dissident Catholics in a southern Indian archdiocese refusing to say the synod-approved Mass on Sunday in open defiance of a pontifical delegate.
Jesuit Archbishop Cyril Vasil, the Vatican delegate appointed to find a solution to a decades-old liturgy dispute in the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly in southern Kerala state, in a Aug. 17 order had threatened priests with excommunication if they failed to comply with his ultimatum on Aug. 20.
The prelate also sought the closure of parish churches if they faced protests against his order.
However, only six of the 328 parishes in the archdiocese celebrated Mass in the synod-approved uniform mode. In seven parishes, people stopped the priests from complying with the order from the pontifical delegate.
An overwhelming majority of priests and parishes stuck to their traditional Mass, in which celebrants faced the congregation.
The crux of the protracted controversy is their refusal to accept the synod-approved liturgy in which priests face the altar during the Eucharistic prayer of the Mass.
“It was like applying salt on the already bleeding wounds”
“I think now we are on a path of never going back. The feeling is to become an independent Catholic Church under the pope. We will be happy to be independent of an oppressive system,” said a senior priest of the archdiocese.
“Now it is clear that the people and the priests in the archdiocese do not want the uniform mode of Mass the Syro-Malabar Synod wants to force upon us,” said Riju Kanjookaran, spokesperson of the Archdiocesan Movement for Transparency (AMT), a forum of priests, religious and laity that is spearheading the protest.
Kanjookaran told UCA News on Aug. 20 that Archbishop Vasil had arbitrarily issued the ultimatum to the priests without even discussing the basic issues that stop them from adopting the uniform mode of Mass.
“It was like applying salt on the already bleeding wounds and pushing the archdiocese on the verge of a possible split,” he said.
The dissident group has called for the priests who celebrated the uniform mode for Mass in place of the traditional Mass to vacate their churches immediately.
A special synod of the Syro-Malabar Church was convened on June 12-16 with the exclusive purpose of finding a solution to the liturgy dispute. It failed to reach a consensus and instead recommended a papal delegate to hold a dialogue with all concerned and find a lasting solution.
Vasil, a Slovakian archbishop, was appointed as the papal delegate to settle the dispute amicably.
Vasil has been accused by the dissidents of not following his original mandate.
“Dissidents also questioned the authenticity of Vasil’s appointment”
“He played the role of a tool in the hands of Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, the apostolic administrator of the archdiocese, and tried to implement his (Thazhath’s) whims and fancies creating more trouble for the Catholic Church,” Kanjookaran alleged.
The dissidents say that Thazhath is the “main villain” who aggravated the crisis in the archdiocese since his appointment as apostolic administrator on July 30, 2022. They had sought his removal in the past and even boycotted him.
The dissidents also questioned the authenticity of Vasil’s appointment as both the Vatican and the apostolic nunciature in India failed to release his appointment letter stating his mandate. Instead, they were issued a note informing them about his appointment as a pontifical delegate.
Vasil invited further trouble for himself with an official note he issued to Catholics in the archdiocese on Aug. 5 confirming that his mission was to implement the uniform mode of Mass instead of the role of a negotiator.
Father Antony Vadakkekara, spokesman of the Syro-Malabar Church, when asked whether priests who defied the Vasil’s order would be excommunicated said, “It is for the Vatican to decide.”
“The order came from the pontifical delegate, i.e. from the pope himself,” he clarified.
The Vincentian priest termed the defiant actions by the diocesan priests as repeated disobedience against the pope and the vow they had taken at the time of their priestly ordination.
Vadakkekara told UCA News that “the papal delegate will inform the Vatican about the development and take an appropriate decision accordingly.”
“The power to act against defiant priests lies with the Vatican”
Meanwhile, the 54 serving and retired bishops are gathering for their synod from Aug. 21-26 at Mount St. Thomas, the headquarters of Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese.
The synod will discuss the current development in the Church but the spokesperson ruled out any role for it in making a decision on the current crisis.
“It is possible that the pope might ask suggestions from the Syro-Malabar Church synod, but the power to act against defiant priests lies with the Vatican,” Vadakkekara said.
The dissident group claimed the support of 450 of the 470 priests and an overwhelming majority of Catholics in the archdiocese.
The Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly is the seat of power of Cardinal George Alencherry who heads the Syro-Malabar Church, which has some 5 million Catholics worldwide.
The archdiocese has half a million Catholics and is the second largest in the Church in terms of population.
Meanwhile, Catholics associated with the AMT on Aug. 19 challenged the legality of the pontifical delegate’s order directing priests to adopt the uniform mode of Mass in a local court.
The court has, according to informed sources, sent notices to Vasil and Thazhath seeking their replies and listed the matter for hearing on Aug. 24.
The liturgy dispute began in the Church a decade after the Vatican Second Council when attempts began to revive the Church’s liturgy. One group wanted to revive the liturgy in line with ancient traditions while another wanted to modernize it.
The traditionalists wanted priests to face the altar throughout the Eucharistic celebration, while the modernists wanted them to face the congregation.
The Church’s synod in 1999 devised a uniform Mass which required priests to face the altar during the Eucharistic prayer and face the people at other times. It was seen as a comprise formula, but could not be implemented following opposition from the traditionalists.
The synod in August 2021 without any prior demand revived the controversial Mass and ordered all 35 dioceses to implement it with effect from November 2021.
All except Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese have implemented the synod-approved Mass.
The uncompromising stand by Catholics in the archdiocese has led to unpleasant situations with protests, hunger strikes, street fights, and even violent clashes inside St Mary’s Cathedral Church leading to its closure for almost eight months now. – UCA News
