Priests in the Indian state of Kerala have publicly protested against a mandate from the Pope to institute a uniform liturgy by Christmas Day.
In response to Pope Francis instruction to adopt the “uniform liturgy” of the Syro-Malabar eucharistic rite, the Holy Qurbana, or face excommunication, a number of priests urged the Vatican to recognise the way they have celebrated the liturgy for the past 60 years.
“We are not against the Pope or the synod [of bishops] but our request is only to do justice to our archdiocese with 650,000 faithful, 464 priests, and thousands of religious,” Fr Kuriakose Mundadan of the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly told CNA.
The Syro-Malabar Church is one of the 23 autonomous Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with Rome. The Holy Qurbana has been the subject of a long, complex dispute over which direction the priest should face when celebrating the liturgy.
Priests from the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly celebrate the liturgy versus populum, in the style of the post-Vatican II Western Church, while others celebrate liturgy ad orientem.
In 2021 the Synod of Bishops of the Eastern Catholic Church based in India approved the introduction of a uniform liturgy – first formulated in 1999 – requiring priests to face the altar during the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Pope Francis supported the synod’s mandate, directing “all the clergy, religious and lay faithful to proceed to a prompt implementation of the uniform mode of celebrating the Holy Qurbana, for the greater good and unity of your Church”.
The Pope’s latest intervention came in a video message on 7 December this year, issuing an ultimatum to those who still refused the uniform rite.
“By Christmas, in the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly, as throughout the Syro-Malabar Church, may Qurbana be celebrated in communion according to the directions of the synod,” he said.
“Please do not continue to wound the body of Christ! Do not separate yourselves from it! And even though there have been some grievances against you, forgive them with generosity.
“May the Eucharist be the model of your unity. Do not shatter the body of Christ which is the Church, so as not to eat and drink judgment upon yourselves (cf. 1 Cor 11:29),” he said.
“I examined closely and attentively the reasons that have been used for years to convince you,” Francis said, adding: “I know there are reasons for opposition that have nothing to do with celebrating the Eucharist or the liturgy. They are worldly reasons. They do not come from the Holy Spirit. If they do not come from the Holy Spirit, then they come from somewhere else.”
Following criticism of the Pope’s video message from priests and lay leaders, the Syro-Malabar hierarchy issued a statement on 11 December.
“The message of the Holy Father in the video is unambiguous,” it said.
“This statement is being issued because of the propagation of a message that the Holy Father might have made a mistake in the subject of the unified mode of celebration of the Qurbana and has been misinformed about it and that there are factual errors in his video message,” said Father Antony Vadakkekara CM, spokesperson for the Syro-Malabar Church.
“This propaganda that the Holy Father was misinformed is a futile camouflage that tries subtly to justify their disobedience of the Holy Father,” Vadakkekara said.
The Pope’s message was broadcast the same day that the Vatican accepted the resignations of Cardinal George Alencherry, the head of the Syro-Malabar Church, and of Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, apostolic administrator of the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly.
Their departure was welcomed by dissenting priests, but following the Pope’s message more than 300 priests from Ernakulam-Angamaly held an emergency meeting on 13 December and demanded that a “thorough investigation must be conducted into the content of the video message of Pope Francis”.
In a statement, they said that Archbishop Thazhath was responsible for the video message.
“The source of the video message, which is replete with factual errors and ambiguities, is a by-product of Archbishop Andrews Thazhath and the Dicastery for Oriental Churches, which enforces the pope to sing to its tune without verifying the facts,” alleged the statement issued by the Archdiocesan Protection Council (APC), formed of dissenting priests.
“When the Pope remarks that only a few priests are against the synod [uniform] Mass and the faithful should not listen to them on this matter, it obviously is not the language of Pope Francis who consistently and repeatedly speaks about synodality. In fact, out of the 464 priests, barring 10-12 priests, the remaining 452 vouch for the Mass versus populum,” the APC statement said.
However, Syro-Malabar Church officials told CNA that all members of the Church are bound to obey the Pope’s wishes.
“The papal message needs no clarification,” Fr Vadakkekara said, when asked for reaction to the controversy.
“When the Holy Father has clearly stated that he has ‘examined closely and attentively’ the subject, how can we react to it?” he said.
Archbishop Thazhath told CNA that criticism of the Pope’s video message was an act of disobedience.
“Am I greater than the Pope to dictate anything to him?” Thazhath said. “They are trying to find excuses to disobey the Pope,” he added.
Nevertheless, a number of priests have continued to express dissenting views.
“The Holy Father would have not made such a message if he had been briefed about the reality here,” Fr Mundadan, the secretary to the priests’ council of Ernakulam-Angamaly, told CNA.
“The real issue is the liturgy itself, but some have misguided the pope on this to say there are ‘worldly reasons’,” he said.
Mundadan said that the synodal meeting which decided that the entire Church would adopt a uniform liturgy – conducted online in 2021 – did not follow correct procedure.
Archbishop Cyril Vasil, appointed by Pope Francis in July to help find a resolution to the crisis splitting the Syro-Malabar Church, travelled back to Kerala on 12 December.
“I explained this in detail during today’s meeting with Archbishop Cyril Vasil,” Mundadan said on 18 December.
“We are not against the Pope or the synod but our request is only to do justice to our archdiocese with 650,000 faithful, 464 priests, and thousands of religious.”
“Serious discussions are going on with the papal delegate and Bishop Bosco Puthur, [new administrator of the archdiocese] to sort out the issues,” Fr Jose Vailikodath, APC spokesperson, told CNA.
Meanwhile, priests from the neighbouring Eparchy of Irinjalakkuda have also protested against the uniform rite.
Seven senior priests from the diocese met with Archbishop Vasil in Kochi on 19 December and presented him with a memorandum calling for the restoration of the liturgy facing the people.
“The bishop and the representatives of the priests from the Eparchy of Irinjalakuda had reported the discord in the diocese [that] arose after the announcement of the synod’s controversial decision,” the memorandum said.
“Any move to impose uniformity, falsely citing dissension among priests, will end up leaving the currently vibrant Church lifeless and inactive.”
The memorandum was signed by 127 of the 220 priests serving in the diocese.
“Though officially the synodal Mass was launched in the diocese, Mass facing the people throughout is [still] followed in several parishes,” Fr Jose Kavalakat, coordinator of the Liturgical Action Committee of Irinjalakkuda, told CNA.
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