KOCHI: A meeting of the priests belonging to the section opposing Unified Holy Mass which was held at the Renewal Center at Kaloor on Wednesday decided that a thorough investigation should be conducted into the content of the Pope’s video message. The priests numbering 300 demanded that Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, who was removed by the Vatican from the post of administrator, no longer interfere in the affairs of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese.
Fr Jose Edassery said the priests are ready to cooperate with Archbishop Cyril Vasil if he takes the path of dialogues and discussions as he had recently told the media. At the meeting, it was pointed out that Archbishop Andrews Thazhath was the source of the message which is full of factual errors and ambiguities. “It is easy to understand if you read the Syro-Malabar Synod reports of the past 10 years. The statement that the Synod formulated the formula is not true,” said Fr Jose Vailikodath.
“Other than 10-12 priests, all 450 priests are for the public-facing Holy Mass. No one has informed the Pope that there is a pastoral situation where the faithful will prevent priests from saying the Unified Holy Mass. No priest can mislead the laity here,” he said.
“The Pope is infallible at the level of faith and morals. The Pope is infallible when it comes to a liturgical manner in the Eucharistic celebration of any individual congregation. Those with influence in Rome did not inform the Pope of the correct facts or circumstances,” said the meet.
The meeting also assessed that Archbishop Bosco Puthur, as Apostolic Administrator, should make an effort to inform Pope Francis of the pastoral truth here. “Through social media, many posts are being spread by vested interests with the connivance of the Church authorities.
And they mislead the common believers.” But the priests said they were sure that the enlightened faithful of the Archdiocese would reject it. “On December 10, many false campaigns were made to discourage believers from attending the centenary celebrations,” said Fr Joseph Parakattil.