Your Holiness Pope Francis, why are you persecuting us? The faithful of Syro-Malabar Church

by Tom Peter from Delhi, India

Your Holiness, why are you persecuting us? The faithful of Syro-Malabar Church

This is the humble plea from the faithful of Syro-Malabar Church, mainly from the northern part of Kerala, headed by the Archdiocese of Ernakulam. Syro-Malabar Church is heading from chaos to turmoil as the latest move from Pope Francis appointing a new administrator Archbishop Thazath. He is believed to be an epic center of all liturgical problems of the Syro-Malabar Church. The majority of faithful believe that Archbishop Thazath is the kingpin behind seeking the resignation of Archbishop Kariyil, who stood courageously for Holy Mass facing the congregation. The infighting among the bishops and pre -Vatican ideologies of certain bishops’ lobby group ripped apart the peaceful living and exuberance in the Syro-Malabar Church in India.

Who destroyed peace and harmony?

One thing it is very sure that it is not the faithful or clergy in the Syro Malabar Church. It is the Syro-Malabar Synod, and it's bishops. According to CCEO, the Synod claims absolute power in the sui iuris Churches. This concept of sui iuris Church power structure has created a dictatorship of brute majority in the Syro-Malabar Synod, obsessed with Pre Vatican ideology.

A lobby group of Archbishop Powathil fueled the burning fire for three decades and reached its heights, triggering an impending division in the Church. Instead of bringing peace and harmony, this ideological war and social engineering for amazing the absolute majority of bishops in the Syro-Malabar Church paid the price creating irreversible damages to the Church.

Innumerable letters and mass petitions of faithful to His Holiness Pope Francis were hijacked by a lobby group of Oriental Congregation headed by Cardinal Sandri.

The latest move of appointing an administrator to the Archdiocese of Ernakulam Archbishop Thazath, removing Archbishop Kariyil, turned out to be a terrible disaster. Archbishop Andrews, the apostolic administrator was escorted out by the Kerala police as he started his strategy to impose the so-called Pre Vatican agenda on liturgy. Archbishop Andrews was requested by the canonical body of the archdiocese presbyteral body to request for a liturgical variant as it has been a tug of war as the Synod tried to impose the Holy Mass facing the altar. Conflicting with the priest council, Archbishop Thanzath, insisted on imposing the pre-Vatican formula of the Mass against the wish of the laity and priest in the archdiocese. More than half a million Catholics of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam have been demanding the Holy Mass facing the congregation as it has been the custom of the archdiocese for more than 60 years.

Cardinal Sandri, the prefect of the Oriental Congregation, allegedly issued a letter in favour of Archbishop Andrews. Apparently, Andrews cheated the priests and laity as he is accused of orchestrating the same betrayal at the archdiocese of Trissur.