Why crisis at Syro-Malabar Church will put new Pope's Kerala connection to test

Pope Leo XIV declares 'I am Roman!' as he completes formalities to become bishop of Rome

What began with differences over how Mass is celebrated has now turned into a full-blown battle, exposing the fissures that run deep within the Syro-Malabar Church, the largest communion of Catholics outside the Western church and a major group of Christians in India.

Unruly developments at the Kerala church not only have political implications -- the larger shift in the political influence of the church in the state and subsequent realignment of the Christian voting bloc -- bot also raising questions over the future of one of Kerela's most influential and economically advantaged minority groups.

What is the Syro-Malabar Church?

With an estimated following of about 50 lakh, the Syro-Malabar Church is an autonomous congregation under Roman Catholicism considered outside the direct rule of the Pope, though owing allegiance to him.

Members of this Church believe that St Thomas, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, landed on the Kerala coast and baptised their forefathers in the first century AD. This community, known as Nasranis or St Thomas Christians, pre-existed European colonialism, which fuelled evangelisation in South Asia.

A large fraction of them came into the Catholic fold in the 17th century under the Portuguese influence and came to be known as the Syro-Malabar Church.

What is the present crisis about?

The crisis at the Kerala Church primarily stems from the manner of celebration of the Mass. As an autonomous church within Roman Catholicism, the power to decide on the lithurgy, or the rituals that make up worship, rests with the council of bishops, also known as the synod, of the Syro-Malabar Church.

As per a report in the Economic Times, the synod decided in 2021 that the priest, during Mass, would face the altar throughout barring the introductory prayer, Bible reading and conclusion.

Whether the priest should face the altar or the congregation during Mass has been a touchy topic for long. Given its potential to create disquiet, each diocese was given a choice on the matter, until 2021, it said.

Notably, the Mass celebration was globally altar-facing until the reformist second Vatican Council of 1962-65, which changed it to encourage increased participation of people and allowing for vernacular languages. In 1965, in accordance with the global Catholic Church, the Syro-Malabar Church departed from its age-old, altar-facing Mass in Syriac and adopted a new, people-facing Malayalam liturgy, ruffling feathers within a section of the clergy who claimed the practice was against their culture and heritage.

It was this faultline that triggered hostility -- even leading to a rebellion and law and order problems in the church after the August 2021 synod. At the heart of this rebellion against the synod's decision is the Ernakulam Angamaly Archdiocese, Kerala’s largest, with 6,55,000 members.

A vast majority of the 469 priests and followers spread across 220 parishes vociferously protested the new directive. Under the banner of the Archdiocese Protection Forum, rebel priests and the faithful have frequently clashed with pro-synod priests and their supporters, each disrupting the celebration of Mass by the rival faction.

What was the immediate trigger?

On May 6, as the conclave of Catholic cardinals to elect a new pope was set to begin in Rome, ugly scenes unfolded at a bishop’s office in Kerala. Archbishop Joseph Pamplany of the Syro-Malabar Church was heckled, threatened and insulted by a group of the faithful.

It is to be noted that Pamplany was recently tasked with ending hostilities between the two warring factions and the May 6 incident was the latest in a series of disruptions that often spiralled into violence, verbal abuse and toppling of altar tables during Mass.

Such has been the acrimony that St Mary’s Basilica in Kochi, a major spiritual centre of the Syro-Malabar Church, has not seen Holy Mass, the most important prayer ritual for Catholics, being performed for the past 900 days.

Matter of faith or a diversionary tactic?

Rebel priests, on the other hand, allege that the changes in the liturgy and its hasty enforcement was part of a larger design to divert the attention of the public from what they allege was a financial scandal.

At the centre of this allegation is Cardinal George Alencherry, their former head priest, who resigned citing ill-health in December 2023. Just two weeks ahead of the synod's decision to effect changes in the manner in which prayers were being conducted, the Kerala High Court had ordered that Cardinal Alencherry stand trial in all cases linked to certain land deals that dating back to 2018. These allegations point to a loss of Rs 90 crore to the diocese.

Alencherry had to eventually step away from diocesan affairs and Bishop Jacob Manathodath was appointed as the administrator, who brought in KPMG for a forensic audit. According to ET, a confidential KPMG report highlighted lack of transparency, absence of due deliberations, contradictions in the cardinal’s statements and procedural lapses in transactions.

The pro-Alencherry lobby, however, has dismissed these allegations and instead claimed that a small group with vested interests was mounting trouble with the aim to prevent the Syro-Malabar Church from becoming a patriarchate, the highest status for a church within Roman Catholicism.

Alencherry, who continues to be embroiled in at least six cases, also approached the SUpreme Court after the adverse verdict of the Kerala High Court but was denied relief from appearing in land-related cases. His appeal, seeking the quashing of criminal proceedings against him, was also turned down by the top court eventually.

Test for new Pope's Kerala connection

The series of incidents and the acrimony in the Kerala church is arguably going to pose a challenge for the new Pope, Leo XIV -- one that his predecessor failed to resolve. Pope Francis tried but could not bring harmony within the church despite having appealed to the congregation through a video message in December 2023.

That puts the new Pope, who has visited Kerala as Father Robert Prevost in the 2000s, in a peculiar position. While the Vatican has a limited scope of intervention in matter of liturgy of the autonomous nature of the Syro-Malabar Church, there are bound to be expectations from the new Pope to settle this acrimony given the euphoria in Kerala around his appointment initially.

As the Prior General of the Order of St Augustine (OSA), Fr Robert Francis Prevost visited Kochi, Kerala in 2004 and 2006, on the first occasion for the priesthood ordination ceremony of six OSA deacons. During Fr Robert Francis Prevost’s visit in 2006, he came to the archdiocese headquarters and the historic Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Joseph, Varapuzha, a spiritual landmark in the archdiocese of Verapoly.

These visits are etched in the memories of several Kerala Catholics whose joy knew no bounds when he was announced as the new Pope.