A Reflection on Ernakulam-Angamaly Diocese’s Issues: What Happened?

By Tom Thomas.

I get up early this morning, around 3 am, and reached for the phone. This is not a great habit, but what to do? It is ingrained in me to reach for the phone first thing.

Scrolling through the news feed on my phone, I see on Vatican News that Holy Father Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Major Archbishop and Head of Kerala’s Syro-Malabar Church, Cardinal Alencherry , as well that of the apostolic administrator of Ernakulum-Angamaly Archbishop Andrews. The Holy Father has given the warring faction of the Syro-Malabar Church Ernakulam-Angamaly diocese until December 25th this year to resolve the uniform issue of offering Mass, and come into accordance with the unified code procedure.

I sigh! No doubt that this news will be carried in media all over the country and even the world.  Not good for those many detractors of the Catholic Church. Maybe I made an involuntary sound as my better half stirs. “What happened ?” She asks.

I tell her what I read and then lapse down memory lane, unable to sleep further.

Just over a year ago, our eldest child got married in the beautiful St Mary’s Basilica in Kochi. Two weeks after that, the very same magnificent basilica was shut down on this issue because of the dissent among the laity and some of the clergy about adopting the unified code of conduct.

In the time since, the images of conflict inside the church itself, with even some priests engaging in fist fighting and being manhandled, have been broadcast all over. Many of the faithful are shaken.

My late dad watching these images of the mayhem at home is sad. His two late brothers were priests, one a Syro Malabar priest and the other a Salesian priest, all who lived and died as per their vows taken at the time of ordination. ‘What happened to our faith and obedience to the Church?’ is the question on everyone’s minds.

As a Malayalee born abroad and settled in a city outside Kerala, my Syro-Malabar roots are from my parents. We go to the Latin Church for Mass, as we have done for decades.

Yet this conflict shakes us. On our visits to Kochi for family functions, this is a topic of discussion, and many say youngsters are not going to church any more. So much has this infighting impacted their faith. How can they be strong in the faith when the main basilica itself of the Ernakulum- Angamaly archdiocese, the flagship, is shut and barricaded for over a year with a 24-hour police guard?

There has not seemed to be any solution over the months, with even experienced administrators and the Vatican Nuncio seemingly unable to solve the crisis by bridging the gap. The next couple of weeks will be crucial to see if the warring faction complies with the directive of the Holy Father.

Is not one of the main vows that priests and religious leaders take that of obedience to the Church? Is this forgotten by those of the clergy who do not want to follow the directives? In my own case as a layperson and as a son, many times in life I have not wanted to follow what my dad, in his wisdom, wanted me to do. But in obedience, I followed, and the ultimate situation turned out for the better.

I ponder this imbroglio today on the feast of the Immaculate Conception when we remember a young girl who said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” ( Lk 1:38).These words of surrender and acceptance she utters despite all the uncertainty and hardships she will have to face.

Mother Mary, we can make any request of you, even impossible ones. The words of the Memorare ring in me:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known
that anyone who fled to thy protection,
implored thy help,
or sought thy intercession,
was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence
I fly unto thee,
O Virgin of virgins, my Mother.
To thee do I come,
before thee I stand,
sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions,
but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.

Mother Mary, please bring the Syro-Malabar church united as one family again, following the wishes of the Holy Father. Make our request known to your Son to intervene in this difficult situation, just as you requested at the Wedding of Cana.

Let us all be united in our beautiful Catholic Church, especially the Syro-Malabar, in the state where St Thomas the Apostle set foot first in India, God’s own country.

“My Lord and my God.” Our faith. Our trust is in Him. That is the only thing for all of us to hold on to in our lives, as St Thomas did. May we all respect and obey the wishes of Apostle Peter’s representative on earth, Holy Father Pope Francis.

Amen