KOCHI: Kerala High Court on Wednesday rejected a plea seeking a directive to the government to consider the representation to intervene and settle through mediation the issue regarding uniform mass at St Mary’s Cathedral Basilica in Ernakulam. The church was closed following clashes between dissident priests of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese and a group supporting the uniform mass on December 24, 2022. The court made it clear that it cannot intervene in religious matters.
Government pleader T S Shyam Prashant submitted that this being a religious affair and not a temporal one, the state or chief secretary has no role either.
The court said that it appears that certain decision has been taken by the Synod. The remedy against the decision is not to move the government but to invoke other remedies. The court does not intend to enter into the controversy in any manner whatsoever. “In matters relating to ecclesiastical affairs, the jurisdiction of the court is extremely attenuated. In these circumstances I close this petition with every other liberty being open to the petitioners,” said Justice Devan Ramachandran.
The court issued the order on a petition filed by Antony Joseph and others seeking the court’s intervention in the dispute. The petitioner argued that the right to be part of the Holy Mass is important to them. Hence, a mediation effort should be made by eminent ecclesiastical personalities like the Archbishop of Ernakulam so that the issues between the parties can be resolved amicably, stated the petitioner.