(UCAN): Archbishop Cyril Vasil of Slovakia was named pontifical delegate to find a lasting solution to the decades-old liturgy dispute in the Eastern-rite Syro-Malabar Church in India.
The appointment of Archbishop Vasil, a Jesuit and a former secretary of the Office for Eastern Churches and head of the Greek Catholic diocese of Kosice in Slovakia, came after the Kerala-based Church’s synod failed to find a solution to the disagreement.
The liturgy row in the Syro-Malabar Church has seen clashes, public rallies, hunger strikes, burning of effigies, and police registering cases.
The dispute dates back to the 1970s with traditionalists wanting the priests to celebrate the Mass facing the altar throughout the Eucharistic celebration, while the modernists want them to face the congregation.
The dispute intensified after the Church’s synod approved a uniform Mass in 1990 in which priests to turn to the altar during the Eucharistic prayer and face people for the rest of the Mass.
The dispute dates back to the 1970s with traditionalists wanting the priests to celebrate the Mass facing the altar throughout the Eucharistic celebration, while the modernists want them to face the congregation
Except for the Archdiocese Ernakulam-Angamaly, headed by George Cardinal Alencherry, all 35 dioceses adopted the synod-approved Mass by 2022. Tensions simmered in the archdiocese as the synod insisted on implementing the uniform liturgy with a majority of its priests and Catholics opposing it.
Last December, St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica was closed after a brawl erupted between rival groups in.
The Archdiocesan Movement for Transparency [AMT], comprising priests, religious and lay people from the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, questioned the appointment of Archbishop Vasil, expressing doubts about his credibility.
In a July 31 statement, the group claimed he was “instrumental in whitewashing a land scam involving Cardinal Alencherry and the expulsion of two auxiliary bishops from the archbishop’s house without the knowledge of the Vatican and Pope Francis.”
The dispute took an ugly turn on July 31 when the two bishops were prevented from attending the funeral of Father Jose Karachira, an archdiocesan priest. Police had to escort them out of the church
The statement noted that Archbishop Vasil studied in Rome with Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Trichur, who is currently apostolic administrator of Ernakulam-Angamaly. The AMT sees Cardinal Alencherry and Archbishop Thazhath being among those imposing a liturgy they do not want
The dispute took an ugly turn on July 31 when the two bishops were prevented from attending the funeral of Father Jose Karachira, an archdiocesan priest. Police had to escort them out of the church.
Archbishop Vasil wash slated tp arrive in Kerala on August 4, accompanied by Jesuit Father Sunny Kokkaravalayil, professor of canon law at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome.
Despite its concerns, the AMT has not called for a boycott of the papal delegate.
“We will cooperate with the papal delegate despite our serious concerns,” Riju Kanjookaran, spokesperson of the movement, said on August 1.
