Nearly 250 priests of the Syro-Malabar Church met here on Tuesday to express their resentment against the reinstatement of Cardinal George Alencherry as head of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese.
They also protested against the removal of the two Auxiliary Bishops Sebastian Adayanthrath and Jose Puthenveettil. They were asked to move out of the Archbishop’s House after George Alencherry assumed office following his reinstatement on Thursday.
A communication by the Archdiocese Media Commission earlier had said that the administrative responsibility of the archdiocese would now be handled by Cardinal Alencherry. It also said that Bishop Jacob Manathodath, whose term as Apostolic Administrator has ended, will continue to head the Palakkad diocese. His appointment as Apostolic Administrator in June last year was in the wake of controversies pertaining to land deals involving the archdiocese.
The priests, who met here on Tuesday, said that they would not cooperate with Cardinal Alencherry and his office.
“How can we cooperate with those who failed to discharge their duties honestly?” they asked.
The priests had earlier passed a resolution taking strong exception to the decision of the Vatican to reinstate Cardinal Alencherry as the head of the archdiocese. They also questioned why the Cardinal had taken charge by entering the Archbishop’s House in the night.
The priests said that the Auxiliary Bishops were removed for cooperating with them. They also urged the Oriental Congregation and the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church to inform the faithful about the findings of the commissions that had probed the land deals involving the Cardinal.
The Archdiocesan Movement for Transparency (AMT), a combine of priests, religious and lay people demanding more transparency in the functioning of the archdiocese, expressed concern over the return of Cardinal Alencherry with full powers despite causing major financial losses to the archdiocese.
