Over 50,000 faithful and priests from 320 parishes of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church turned up at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium here on Sunday afternoon to attend a convention held demanding transparency and accountability in the functioning of the archdiocese.
The faithful registered protest at Archbishop Antony Kariyil being “forced” to resign and the synod “imposing” the order of worship in churches under the archdiocese. The other demands included initiation of steps to recoup through restitution the huge sums of money that the archdiocese allegedly lost through the controversial land deal, and giving due prominence to the opinions of Church members and organisations.
Resolution
In a resolution passed at the convention, the faithful termed the archdiocese their ‘mother’. Any attempt to impose alien concepts and repressive measures would be fought tooth and nail, even if it meant laying down their lives. They reiterated their demand for transparency and their commitment to opposing at any cost attempts [by the synod] to derail the order of worship wherein the priest faced the congregation, that had been followed for the past many decades. This must be accepted as a ‘liturgical variant’ of the archdiocese, as the custom was handed over through generations.
Pursue cases
Another demand is that the Apostolic Administrator continue pursuing the cases filed by the archdiocese before the supreme tribunal of the Vatican during the time of Archbishop Kariyil, and the inclusion of priests who have sound knowledge of canon laws to pursue the case. Any attempt to dilute the cases and impose an alternative order of worship in churches would face stiff opposition. The new Administrator should implement the ‘restitution‘ as decided upon by the Vatican, the resolution said.
The resolution warned that the faithful would not cooperate with the archdiocese if they were kept away from daily administrative matters. It expressed dismay at the Archdiocese not heeding the directive of Pope Francis that bishops must walk hand in hand with the faithful. The resolution termed unjust and painful Archbishop Kariyil being ‘forced’ to resign, without even being served a show-cause notice and took exception at priests, who acted contrary to the long-cherished values of the Church, being appointed in key positions.
The convention was organised under the banner of the Athiroopatha Samrakshana Samiti, Almaya Munnettam, Daivajana Kootayma, Basilica Kootayma, Kerala Catholic Youth Movement, CLC, CML, and the Vincent De Paul Society.
