Personnel changes are intended to pacify the unrest in the Indian diocese

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of his interim administrator in the troubled southern Indian diocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly. The Vatican announced this on Saturday. At the end of 2023, the former Syro-Malabar Bishop of Melbourne in Australia, Bosco Puthur (78), was appointed by the Pope as Apostolic Administrator of the archdiocese. Puthur was intended to help pacify disputes over liturgical and personnel issues that had been simmering for years.

Thousands of believers are demanding resignation

In Puthur’s place, the synod of the Syro-Malabar Church united with Rome in Saint Thomas Mount in the state of Kerala, which has been meeting since Thursday, elected the Archbishop of Tellicherry, Joseph Pamplany (55), as the representative of Archbishop Raphael Thattil (68). A year ago, Thattil was elected Major Archbishop and thus head of the entire Syro-Malabar Church as well as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly and was selected by the Pope.

To help Thattil pacify the unrest in the diocese, the Pope had appointed Bishop Puthur as administrator. However, in the autumn, thousands of believers in Kochi called for Puthur’s resignation. He had previously announced that eight deacons would only be allowed to be ordained priests if they justified their intention to celebrate mass only according to the Reformed liturgy.

Synod advises on rite questions

The central major archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly has been rocked by a liturgical dispute for years. The sometimes violent protests are directed against some points decided by the synod to standardize the celebration of the “Holy Qurbana”, i.e. the service in the Syro-Malabar rite. The main question is whether the priest should celebrate the Eucharist facing the congregation or the altar. The current synod of 54 bishops, which meets until Saturday, also wanted to look for further steps in this regard.

Pope repeatedly called for unity

A compromise in the summer failed, and several appeals from the Pope for the unity of the faithful were also of little fruit. The plan by opponents of the liturgical reform to found their own church was rejected by Rome, the previous administrator Puthur said at the end of October. In the end, protest communities threaten a financial boycott against the archdiocese.

The Syro-Malabar Church, with around five million believers worldwide, is the larger of the two Eastern Churches in India associated with the Pope. Of its 35 states, 31 are in India, four others are in the USA, Canada, Australia and Great Britain.