Newly elected pastoral council secretary of the Syro-Malabar Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly P.P. Jerald on Saturday said he would take the path of prayer, patience, and peace to resolve the crisis that had engulfed the archdiocese following a series of land sales unfolding into a major scandal involving Major Archbishop Cardinal George Alencherry and senior Church functionaries.
First meeting
It is the first meeting of the pastoral council, comprising 198 lay and priestly members drawn from all forane churches and religious institutions under the archdiocese, after the scandal involving the land sale spilled into the open.
Sources said the participants expressed the opinion that the Major Archbishop should have been more careful about the land deal.
Official stance
An official communication from the archdiocese said the pastoral council expressed the hope that a solution acceptable to all would be evolved on the issues that were now rocking the archdiocese.
Auxiliary bishop Sebastian Edyanthrath presided over the first meeting of the pastoral council, in office between 2018 and 2021. The meeting was held at the Pastoral Orientation Centre.
Mini Paul was elected joint secretary of the pastoral council. However, a senior priest of the archdiocese claimed that attempts to get a pro-Major Archbishop person elected to the post failed on Saturday.
