Rebels intensify protest as they pledge to break away from Syro-Malabar Church

The group of rebel priests and lay people protesting in front of St. Mary’s Basilica on October 13, demanding the resignation of the new functionaries of the Church and the ordination of deacons without the conditions set by the Synod of Bishops
| Photo Credit: special arrangement

Thousands of lay people and priests of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese joined a protest against the Archdiocesan authorities and the newly-constituted curia in Kochi on October 13 (Sunday) and passed a resolution to free themselves from the yoke of the Syro-Malabar Church and exist as an independent Church in communion with Rome.

The rebels included laypeople from all the major forane churches in the five lakh-strong archdiocese, along with around 300 priests. They demanded the disbanding of the new curia, the top decision-making body of the archdiocese, and called for the resignation of apostolic administrator Bishop Bosco Puthur.

They demanded the ordination of deacons without conditions set by the synod of bishops of the Church and supported a fully people-facing Mass, opposing the synod’s prescription for a Mass in which the celebrant faced the altar during the consecration of the Eucharist.

They also claimed that the new curia, manned by individuals with a “criminal background,” should be disbanded. The rebel rally was organised by Alamaya Munnettam, an archdiocesan movement for transparency led by lay people.

Believers from Forane churches in Koratty, Kaurkutty, Mukkannoor, Angamaly, Moozhikkulam, Paravur, Manjapra, Vallam, Kanjoor, Cherthala, Pallippuram, Vaikom, Thripunithura, Ernakulam Basilica, Kizhakkambalam, and Edappally participated in the protest.

The rally ended at St. Mary’s Basilica, the main church of the Syro-Malabar, near the Bishop’s House in the city. A resolution stating their decision to boycott the apostolic administrator and their refusal to follow the curia’s decisions was read and passed.

The Syro-Malabar Church officially issued a warning against spreading false information regarding the ordination of deacons. The communication said that the only obstacle to ordination was the deacons’ consent letter agreeing to follow the synod’s decision on the unified Mass.