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Journalism of Courage
In an unprecedented development, hundreds of church priests of Ernakulam archdiocese marched to Cardinal George Alencherry’s residence in Kochi on Friday and demanded that he keep away from his responsibilities in the wake of the court directive to register a criminal case against him. This is being seen as an open revolt in Kerala Syro-Malabar Catholic Church over loss incurred in land transactions, allegedly involving Alencherry.
Head of the Syro-Malabar Church, Alencherry is also the archbishop of Ernakulam archdiocese. Friday’s development comes three days after the Kerala High Court directed the police to file a criminal case against Alencherry and three others for allegedly affecting a land deal that caused the losses.
“Against the backdrop of the impending criminal case and the unethical issues in the financial matters, the Cardinal should keep away from all his responsibilities,” priests’ council secretary Fr Kuriakose Mundadan said. Mundadan said that only 10 of 458 priests of the archdiocese are now supporting Alencherry. “The priests’ council’s decision will be communicated to the Bishop’s Synod and the Pope, who is the only authority to remove the Cardinal,’’ he said.
The priests’ council also took strong exception to the stand of the Bishops’ Synod, which has extended support to Alencherry even after the adverse order from High Court. The controversy relates to the loss incurred to the archdiocese after the sale of five plots of land owned by it.
The council also demanded a comprehensive probe into the murder of Fr Xavier Thelakkattu, who was stabbed to death, allegedly by a sexton (church staffer), at a pilgrim centre in Ernakulam last week.
