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Syro-Malabarians pop the 'Indianisation' question

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

While the Sangh Parivar seems to have beaten a retreat from anti-Pope protests, the reformist section in the Syro-Malabar Church has stepped in by raking up the old question of 'Indianisation' of the Church on the eve of the Pontiff's visit.

The reformists, who had tried in vain to get an appointment with the Pope, have brought out the Liturgical Action Supplement under the banner of the Liturgical Action Committee to invite the Pope's attention to the contentious issues they have been raising in the last few years.

The supplement, brought out at a 'Millennium Assembly' of the LAC held in Kochi on Wednesday, urged the Pope to personally intervene in Church affairs. Though the tone this time is mild in contrast to the vehement attack on the Vatican on previous occasions, the speakers at the assembly were unambiguous and strong in their demand for freedom from the Oriental Congregation, which is controlling the Church on the Pope's behalf.

"The Congregation had no territorial jurisdiction on Indian Churches. Yet it has arrogated to itself all the powers including those regarding the appointment of archbishops in the name of the Pope," said LAC chairman E K Paul. "The appointment of the bishops is the prerogative of the Bishops' Synod and the Congregation has no role in it."

Former revolutionary Father Joseph Vadakkan, who was in the forefront of the 1959 liberation struggle that brought down the world's first democratically elected Communist ministry, called for a conference of bishops, priests and the laity to discuss the issues agitating the three million-strong Church in his inaugural address. He wanted the Church rules to be redrafted and the administration of dioceses revamped to give greater role to the laity in temporal affairs.

The assembly, attended by several priests, nuns, and leaders of about half a dozen organisations fighting for the Indianisation cause and the laity, passed six resolutions concerning the status of the Malabar Church, liturgy, administration, appointment and transfer of bishops, control over wealth and marriage laws.

The resolution on the Church status and the Action Supplement said that the categorisation of the Malabar Church as eastern Syriac (Chaldean) is a grave misnomer as it claims that the Indians were evangelised by St Thomas and not by Chaldean merchants or missionaries.

"Our identity is Indian not Chaldean. The Oriental Congregation in Rome has been interfering in our affairs with the ulterior motive of bringing the Church under the Chaldean control. They do this by influencing the appointment and transfer of bishops," the resolution said.

The supplement pointed out that when the OC was established in 1917, Indian churches were not included in its territorial jurisdiction in recognition of the fact that they had a separate identity. The ties between the Persian and the Indian Church were severed as early as 1897 and it was notified that any attempt to restore these would be treated as insubordination and revolt against the Holy See.

"Despite this, the Oriental Congregation has been trying to impose the Persian control on the Indian Church," the supplement said.

Regarding liturgy, the supplement said that the OC was trying to impose the Chaldean liturgy on the Malabar Church without respecting the sentiments of the people. It said that 84 per cent priests had expressed their disagreement with the present liturgy.

"Our bishops, clergy and faithful have strongly protested against this ugly mass text from 1987 onwards. We want a mass text in accordance with our St Thomas traditions and Indian culture," the supplement added.

As regards administration and control of wealth, the booklet pointed that the power was absolutely vested with the bishops leaving no role for laity. It said that as per the St Thomas Law applicable to the Malabar Church, it was the laity who should deal with temporal matters. Unfortunately, the entire power now is with the bishops.

The supplement called for an end to the practice of appointing bishops by the OC. It said that the congregation was using this power to appoint bishops of their choice with a view to hasten the Chaldeanisation process. It called for the constitution of an electoral college consisting of the heads of the diocese, priests and representatives of the laity for selecting the bishops.

"We want an end to the pontifical secrecy, which would not do any good to the Church," the supplement said.

It also urged the Pope to consider the demand for separate Canon laws for the Malabar Church considering its apostolic status. The Church had been following the apostolic traditions till the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century. The new Canon law should recognise the Malabar Church's identity.

The reformist campaign had led to unrest in the Church with discords erupting in several parishes. The move by the Chaldean sympathisers to introduce their cross and other rituals in the Church had led to the closure of some churches in the last two years. Last year, the reformists had held the bishops, who had gathered for the Bishops' Synod at Kochi, captive for several hours. They had also burnt the copies of the new parish rules sought to be implemented in the Church.

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