At a time when the Catholic church is observing the 50-day lent, the most important period in the church calender, two parishes - Malayattoor and Vimalagiri- are at loggerheads over the ownership of the Malayattoor Kurisumudy pilgrimage spot.
Though the issue worsened to the extent of physical assault, the diocean authorities could not resolve the issue so far. The clash had turned violent a couple of days ago. Police personnel from Kalady Police station still camp there in order to maintain law and order situation.
Though the church claims that the issue will be resolved soon, it seems the residents here are not firm believers of the same. Some sections of people view the recent developments as an effort to get the custody of the `1 crore revenue accumulated during this pilgrimage season at Malayattoor Kurisumudy.
“The problems started when the parishoners of Vimalagiri renovated the hitherto abandoned church at Adivaram, the entrance to the Kurisumudy mountain and renamed it as ‘Thiruhridaya Devalayam, Adivaram’ two weeks back. They claimed that the land around the area belongs to the parish. Couple of days ago they bulldosered the area which was marked to lease out to start shops there. The tense situation remained for hours and relaxed only upon the arrival of police. As the pilgrimage season proceeds further, there may be more problems,” said Shivan, an eye-witness of the incident and a native of Malayatoor.
Kurisumudy is a mountain at Maiayattoor, 1269 ft above the sea level. Kurisumudy has its fame as a place visited by St Thomas, one of the Apostles of Christ. It is said that the place receives around `1 crore in the pilgrimage season as revenue. As per the arch diocese version, 60 per cent of the revenue is spent to improve infrastructure facilities at the place. The rest is given to Sebiyur, Illithodu, Kadappara and Malayattoor parishes.
K J Paul, chairman, Development Standing Committee, Malayattoor-Neeleeswaram Panchayat said that as Kurisumudy became an international pilgrimage place naturally some restrictions were imposed on Malayattoor parish. “The recent tension is the result of this,” he added.
The Malayattoor parish consists of around 850 families and there are 400 families in the Vimalagiri parish. Fr Varghese Pottackal, chancellor, The Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly said that discussions were being held with concerned people and the issue will be resolved soon. “The Ernakulam-Angamaly Arch Diocese had not taken any penny from the revenue accrued at Kurisumudy for the past 14 years,” he added.
Fr John Thekkanath, vicar, Malayattoor Parish said the issues have been settled. “The police camp there only to ensure the safety of the pilgrims,” he added.
