THRISSUR: Newly-appointed Apostolic Administrator Mar Jacob Manathodath visited the St. Mary’s Church at Koratty on Sunday. The visit assumes significance as the church had faced allegations of irregularities regarding its accounts.
Mar Jacob Manathodath also led his first mass in the Ernankulam-Angamaly archdiocese after taking charge as the Apostolic Administrator. He exhorted laity to keep peace and have faith in the Church.
He said after his return from Vatican he will look into the alleged irregularities in the church’s accounts. He told parishioners to submit any complaint to assistant vicars of the diocese. It was alleged the former managing committee of the St Mary’s Church did not keep proper accounts of the total gold donated by devotees. Instead, it only showed `8 lakh in the accounts after selling all the gold.
Following the alleged irregularities, the vicar and assistant vicars were transferred and the mass at the church was suspended for almost two months. Since the allegation broke out, a priest from the nearby college has been leading the holy mass in the Koratty Church, parishioners said. Parishioners here are hopeful church functions will be normalised now that the Apostle Administrator has addressed their concerns.