The Ernakulam sessions court on November 22 will consider a petition seeking to stay the introduction of uniform mode of celebration of the holy Mass in the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church.
The petitioners, the Archdiocesan Movement for Transparency, have challenged the decision that the “celebrant shall face the faithful at the Bema during the Liturgy of the Word, turn towards the altar — in the same direction that the faithful are facing — for the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and once again face the faithful during the conducting of rites after holy communion”. The new practice is to come into effect on November 28.
A section of the faithful from the Thamarassery and Thrissur dioceses have also approached court with a similar prayer.
In his statement filed before the court, Fr. Sebastian Manickathan, the power of attorney holder of Archbishop Antony Kariyil, submitted that the civil court did not have any jurisdiction to entertain the suit as the conduct of a ritual or ceremony was not a civil right.
The holy Mass is a religious sacrament based on religious faith and it is a prayer ceremony service founded on customs and ritual as far as the Christian community is concerned. The method, practice, and the contents of the prayer to perform the holy Mass were matters of religious practice of the particular denomination, he submitted.
Fr. Manickathan submitted that there was no violation of any civil right even as per the averments of the plaint and the only concern was with respect to the rituals. The question to be considered in the case was with regard to the manner in which the holy Mass was to be performed, which was purely a ritual which cannot be considered by a court of law, he submitted.
He further submitted that the question of religious sacrament cannot be treated as a question of civil rights. The civil court had the jurisdiction only to try suits of civil nature and not the practices of religion. Hence, the present suit was outside the purview of the Code of Civil Procedure, he submitted.
