KOCHI: A day after he was stopped from entering Ernakulam St Mary’s Cathedral Basilica by priests and laity opposed to the Unified Holy Mass, papal delegate Archbishop Cyril Vasil on Tuesday, made clear the Pope’s stand on the Mass. In his homily during the celebration of the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Mount St Thomas in Kakkanad, Ernakulam, the archbishop said the decision had been made and approved. Hence, it was legitimate and could not be further subject to endless discussion, he said.
He beseeched the laity of Ernakulam-Angamaly Archeparchy to no longer “participate in the sin” against the Lord and the Catholic Church, namely, in refusing to celebrate Holy Qurbana in the only legitimate way, the way approved by the Holy Father.
“The Holy Father has been following for some time the situation in the Archeparchy with great concern. More than two years ago, on June 9, 2021, the supreme legislative body of your Church, the Synod of Bishops, which prepared the Raza Qurbana Taksa, obtained for this text the recognition of the Apostolic See. The letter of recognition explicitly calls for the implementation of the uniform mode of celebration in the entire Syro-Malabar Church,” the archbishop said in his address.
“In this context, we shall remember that the Holy Father Francis was personally and in detail informed of the objections and arguments some people raised towards this decisive solution; he also studied the request for a special dispensation for a local liturgical variant for this Archeparchy,” Vasil said. He said Pope Francis is fully aware of the happenings in the Archeparchy. “The Holy Father sent the communique on two occasions regarding the matter. But the paternal voice of the Holy Father was not heard by many priests, and in many cases, was even hidden from the laity,” he said.
He added: “Finally, the Pope sent me on this personal mission in the hope that the living voice and the mutual looking into each other’s eyes will finally achieve a result.” The papal delegate asked dissidents whether they wished to remain priests and members of the Catholic Church and of the Syro-Malabar Church, or wanted to give preference to the voice of troublemakers who lead them towards disobedience to the Holy Father.
‘PRIESTS, LAITY OPPOSING UNIFIED HOLY MASS CHALLENGE PAPAL DELEGATE’
A day after ugly scenes unfolded at Ernakulam St Mary’s Cathedral Basilica after protestors blocked the entry of the papal delegate, around 100 priests and parishioners entered the church to celebrate Holy Mass on Tuesday. The Mass was celebrated without any untoward incident. The priests celebrated the Mass facing the faithful and not the Unified Holy Mass as directed by the Special Synod. The action of the people campaigning against the Unified Holy Mass came as a direct challenge to the papal delegate who had offered prayers at the church on Monday with police protection, said a priest.