Taking a dig at the priests critical of him, Cardinal George Alencherry is reported to have said that if he had responded to the allegations, the Syro Malabar Church would have descended to the kind of skirmish that was being witnessed in another Church.
The Cardinal, who met the leaders of the laity at the church headquarters at St.Thomas Mount, Kakkanad, reportedly told them that he remained silent out of such a concern.
Reports suggested that the Cardinal told them he held no personal grudges against anyone, there were other kind of grievances which would be shared with the Synod.
“Since the issue was related to the archdiocese, it affected the Church as well. The methods adopted by those who raised the opposition were not befitting the Church,” he reportedly said.
The Church was hurt by the public debate through the media, protests and the burning of effigies, he is believed to have told them.
Meanwhile, the Archdiocesan Movement for Transparency (AMT) accused Cardinal Alencherry of effectively rejecting the eight bishops of the permanent synod who held discussions with the warring priests to end their fast the other day.
Terming it a planned move to sabotage the efforts towards a consensus, the AMT said the Cardinal’s alleged statement that the Church would descend into chaos if he spoke up wasn’t actually aimed at the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese.
It was targeted at the bishops who attended the synod, the AMT said, asking the Cardinal to spell out everything, as “the faithful do not want secrets at the top echelons of the church”.
