Ernakulam: Fresh crisis seems to brew over with a section of priests of the Syro-Malabars, in the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, numbering about 150 publicily voicing their protest against the recent decision by Vatican to reinstate Cardinal Mar George Alencherry as Major Archbishop with all administrative powers.
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Pope Francis on Thursday had terminated the appointment of the apostolic administrator sede plena of the archieparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly, carried out by Msgr. Jacob Manathodath, eparchial bishop of Palghat. This development effectively brought back Cardinal Alencherry, who was caught up in a land deal controversy recently, at the helm of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese.
The Syro-Malabar Church has over 30 dioceses in the country and four outside — in the US, Canada, Australia and Britain — serving over five million faithful.
Reports quoted that the protesting priests on Friday also adopted a resolution critising the Vatican’s Oriental Congregation’s decision to suspend two senior Bishops of the Archdiocese from the offices of the Auxiliary Bishops of the Archdiocese.
Questioning the decision to suspend Bishop Sebastian Adayanthrath and Bishop Jose Puthenveetil from their Offices of Auxiliary Bishops of Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, the priests said no convincing documentary proof has been produced by the Synod of Syro-Malabar Church to justify the decision.
Rallying behind the suspended bishops, the priests, who had earlier fought Cardinal Alencherry over a controversial land deal in the Archdiocese, allegedly involving him, sought to know why both the Bishops were suspended.