Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Trichur, the apostolic administrator of Ernakulam-Angamaly, warned that disobedience to the Pope’s delegate would result in expulsion from the Catholic Church.
Through his delegate, the Pope announced the final decision on the long-standing controversy over Mass in the archdiocese on August 20, according to Archbishop Thazhath.
“Those who have pledged allegiance to the Pope must adhere to the delegate’s decision,” Archbishop Thazhath emphasized, following the defiance of all but 6 of the 328 parishes in the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese against the delegate.
The delegate, Jesuit Archbishop Cyril Vasil, decreed on August 17 that all parishes in the archdiocese should hold Sunday Masses on August 20 following the synod-approved mode. The dissident priests were also threatened with excommunication if they disregarded this directive.
The Almaya Munnetam (laity movement), which leads the protests against the uniform mode, stated that the archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly “completely rejected Archbishop Vasil’s order.”
The movement congratulated over 450 priests of the archdiocese for standing courageously with its 550,000 Catholics.
Six churches conducted the Mass according to the synod’s instructions. Mass was disrupted in seven other churches where the priests attempted to follow the synod mode.
The parishioners of St. Mary’s Basilica in Ernakulam thwarted their vicar Father Anthony Poothaveli’s attempt to conduct the synod Mass with police assistance.
Archbishop Thazhath reminded the dissenting priests that during their priestly ordination, they had taken a vow in the Bible to obey the Pope and the bishops, as reported by the Syro-Malabar Vision portal.
Appointed by Pope Francis on July 30, 2022, Archbishop Thazhath of Trichur, an expert in the Oriental Code of Canon Law, became the apostolic administrator of the archdiocese.
The archdiocese had been vacant since July 26 of that year when its metropolitan vicar, Archbishop Antony Kariyil, submitted his resignation to Apostolic Nuncio to India Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli at the Ernakulam archbishop’s residence.
Archbishop Kariyil’s resignation was seen as a consequence of his failure to persuade the priests and laity in the archdiocese to adopt the uniform mode.
The papal delegate was sent after Archbishop Thazhath struggled to implement the uniform Mass in the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese. The archbishop’s efforts to enforce the synod’s decision with police assistance were met with strong resistance from the dissidents. This led to the closure of the Basilica church in December 2022.
The papal delegate arrived in Kerala on August 4 and caused concern among the dissidents when he announced a day later that his mandate was to implement the synod Mass in the archdiocese. The dissidents doubted his impartiality as he was a classmate of Archbishop Thazhath in Rome.
He further alienated the dissidents on August 15 by urging the faithful of Ernakulam-Angamaly to obey Pope Francis and avoid “troublemakers” who opposed the uniform mode.
“Are you with the Pope or against him?” the delegate asked the Catholics during a Mass at the Oriental Church’s headquarters in Kochi.
He also questioned whether they preferred to listen to the “false solidarity” or intimidation of certain priests who were leading them toward separation from the Catholic Church, as opposed to obeying the Pope and legitimate pastors.
He also deemed their traditional method of celebrating Mass with the priest facing the congregation as illegal.
“Do you choose to follow your Pope, or are you inclined – either due to false solidarity or intimidation – to heed a few priests who are steering you towards de facto separation from the Catholic Church?” he inquired.
He also advised Catholics not to be intimidated by “small groups of violent protesters who fulfill the plans of certain dark forces and seek to disrupt or even prevent the celebration of Qurbana according to the synodal decision.”
All of these factors led the dissidents to decide against further discussions with the papal delegate, whom they accused of having a closed mind.
This article was first published by Matters India.
