Following criticism of the pope’s video message from priests and lay leaders, the Syro Malabar Church (SMC) released a statement on Dec. 11 urging the Church to abide by the pope’s wishes.
“The message of the Holy Father in the video is unambiguous,” the statement read.
“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, spokesperson for the SMC.
“This propaganda that the Holy Father was misinformed is a futile camouflage that tries subtly to justify their disobedience of the Holy Father,” Vadakkekara, a Vincentian priest, said.
On Dec. 7, the Vatican accepted the resignations of Major Archbishop Cardinal George Alencherry of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and of Archbishop Andrews Thazhath as apostolic administrator. The move was viewed favorably by dissenting priests in the days before the release of the pope’s video.
Dissent from more than 300 priests
In response to the pope’s video message, more than 300 priests of the Ernakulam Archdiocese held an emergency meeting on Dec. 13 and demanded that a “thorough investigation must be conducted into the content of the video message of Pope Francis.”
In a statement released to the press they said that Thazhath, who had days before been relieved of his duties as apostolic administrator, was responsible for the pope’s 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).
“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 (facing the people),” the APC statement said.
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The Syro Malabar Church, however, told CNA that all members of the Church are duty-bound to obey the pope’s wishes.
“The papal message needs no clarification,” Vadakkekara told CNA when asked for reaction to the controversy making headlines in the secular and Catholic media.
“When the Holy Father has clearly stated that he has ‘examined closely and attentively’ the subject, how can we [the SMC] react to it?” he said.
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, challenging the pope’s call for liturgical unity.