Row over uniform code for Mass rages
The Hindu
Reading of pastoral letter prevented at several parishes, copies also burnt
The controversy over the way the Mass is celebrated in the Catholic Syrian Church took a new turn on Sunday with groups of parishioners at several parishes, including at Holy Family Parish Church at Prasannapuram, near Aluva, preventing the reading of a pastoral letter from Cardinal George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese and head of the Syro-Malabar Church, and burning copies of the letter. The pastoral letter contained a directive from the synod of the Syro-Malabar Church advising priests and parishioners on celebrating the Mass in a uniform way. The uniform way involves celebrating the Mass with the celebrant (priest) facing the congregation during one half and facing the tabernacle (holy of holies and away from the congregation) during the other half. Priests, parishioners, and the faithful from the Ernakulam-Angamaly, Irinjalakuda, and Thrissur dioceses are among those who have opposed this instruction stridently.More Related News