A group of lay people in the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church has said that any "imposition" of rules by Rome on the celebration of Mass in the archdiocese would be resisted.
Almaya Munnettam (Lay people's group) has said that it welcomed a visit to Rome by a delegation of senior priests from the archdiocese to meet officials of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches on various issues, but made it clear that any attempt to impose a regulation on the way the Mass was celebrated in the archdiocese at present would be resisted.
The delegation of senior priests left for Rome on June 8 and discussions began on June 10, said church sources. The discussions are expected to continue till Thursday, during which period the members are also expecting to meet Pope Francis. The delegation has reached Rome on an invitation from Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
The delegation from the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese is led by Metropolitan Vicar Archbishop Antony Karyil and includes scholar on liturgy Antony Narikulam. The discussions will be central to a decision on how the Mass is celebrated in the archdiocese in view of a decision of the synod of bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church in August last year. The synod had said a uniform Mass celebration system, in which the celebrant faced the congregation for the first half and then faced away from them for the second half, should be implemented. However, a vast majority of the faithful and the priests in the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese had protested against the decision, claiming that a fully congregation-facing Mass had been a half-century-old tradition in the archdiocese.
The lay people's group also claimed that the discussions, other than liturgy, would include the controversial land deals in the archdiocese. The group said a petition had been submitted before the delegation to Rome that it should only favour a fully congregation-facing Mass celebration at the discussions. The fully congregation-facing Mass was in keeping with the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, said a spokesman for Alamaya Munnettam.
The lay people's group also warned that any attempt to curtail the powers of the Metropolitan Vicar or to transfer him would only help destroy the peaceful atmosphere in the archdiocese.
