![Our Lady of Dolours Basilica [Puthanpally], of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in Thrissur City in Kerala, India. Photo: by Sujin c on Unsplash](http://www.examiner.org.hk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/sujin-c-xzyzr7BEEh8-unsplash-e1631687246488-640x360.jpg.webp)
(UCAN): Priests and laity in the Syro-Malabar-rite Archdiocese of Ernakulum-Angamaly in, Kerala, India, have appealed to Pope Francis to consider their way of celebrating Mass as “a liturgy variant” to settle a five-decades-old dispute.
An overwhelming 435 of the 465 priests of archdiocese signed a memorandum urging the Vatican to accept its order of the Mass even though it differs from what the Syro-Malabar bishops’ synod decrees.
Priests across the archdiocese have celebrated Mass facing the congregation for decades, but it suddenly became unacceptable after synod decided in August 2021, that all priests “will face the congregation until the Eucharistic prayer, and then again from communion to the end of the Mass. From Eucharistic prayers until communion, the priest will face the altar.”
The synod’s decision also set April 17 as the deadline to comply with its decision, which is aimed at encouraging in uniformity in the liturgy.
“We have every right to follow our traditional Holy Mass in which the priests face the congregation throughout as per the Indian laws and also of the customary laws of Vatican,” Riju Kanjookaran of the Archdiocesan Movement for Transparency, said on March 25.
“Either the Vatican should legalise our liturgy or accord it a special liturgy variant status or allow our archdiocese to function as an independent diocese directly attached to the Vatican,” Kanjookaran told said.
He added that “hardly five among the 465 priests are favouring the synod Mass and a tiny majority of believers who migrated from other places are also with them, but a vast majority of the priests and the laity want our traditional mass to continue.”
We have also directly sent a letter to Pope Francis, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Oriental Churches, the nuncio to India and the synod of the Syro-Malabar Church appealing to them to legalise our traditional Mass and settle the dispute once and for all for the welfare of all
One priest who signed the memorandum said, “We have handed over our memorandum to the metropolitan vicar, Archbishop Antony Kariyil, urging him to intervene with the Vatican,” he added, “We have also directly sent a letter to Pope Francis, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Oriental Churches, the nuncio to India and the synod of the Syro-Malabar Church appealing to them to legalise our traditional Mass and settle the dispute once and for all for the welfare of all.”
The priest expressed the hope that “Pope Francis will understand us and allow us to continue our Mass.”
Both priests and laity in the archdiocese want a solution before the April 17 deadline avoid any further confrontation as it is becoming a scandal with priests and laity staging public protests and hunger strikes.
The new demand for the Vatican’s acceptance of a “liturgical variant” came after Leonardo Cardinal Sandri, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Oriental Churches, on February 28 ordered the archdiocese to follow the synod decision for uniform liturgy.
Most priests in the Archdiocese of Ernakulum-Angamaly have opposed the decision of the bishops’ synod since it the sought compliance from all its 35 dioceses starting 28 November 2021. It extended the deadline to April 17 for bishops to implement it by pastorally creating awareness among those opposing it.
The rebel group from the archdiocese—the see of George Cardinal Alencherry, the head of the Syro-Malabar Church—insist they will continue celebrating Mass facing the people.
