Presbyteral Council meet postponed

KOCHI: A crucial meeting of the Presbyteral Council of the Archdiocese of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Syro-Malabar Church called by Cardinal Mar George Alencherry was postponed on Thursday. 
The meeting assumes significance since it was scheduled to take place in the backdrop of the real estate deal controversy.According to Fr Kuriakose Mundadan, secretary of the Presbyteral Council - a group of priests chosen to assist in the governance of the diocese - the meeting was postponed following the directive of the Cardinal. “I was forced to postpone the meeting since a group of laity prevented me from attending the Presbyteral Council meeting,” Cardinal Alencherry said in a note passed on to the auxiliary bishops. 

The council, which is of crucial importance as per the Canonical norms and has 57 members as representatives of 458 priests of Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, meets at regular intervals. It is not known if the real estate deal issue was on the agenda of the meeting which was to start at 2.30 pm on Thursday.  As per the norms, Presbyteral Council secretary, Fr Kuriakose Mundadan went to invite the Cardinal to the meeting. However, three persons prevented the Cardinal from attending the meeting, said Kuriakose Mundadan. 

Though Mar Sebastian Adayanthrath and Mar Joseph  Puthanveetil, the auxiliary bishops, along with a few senior priests, informed the Cardinal about the necessity to convene the meeting on Thursday, he expressed his wish to postpone it due to pressure from three members of the laity and handed over the note. The Archdiocese had on December 28 issued a circular in which diocesan authorities admitted there was a lack of transparency in the deals resulting in a huge financial burden to the Archdiocese.

The circular, addressing priests and published on the website of Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, was issued by Auxiliary Bishop Mar Sebastian Adayanthrath. The land scam kicked up such a storm that a section of priests reportedly demanded the resignation of Cardinal Alencherry as head of the Church.

There are allegations the plots owned by the Archdiocese at prime locations in and around Kochi were sold at throwaway prices. In the circular, Mar Adayanthrath confirmed the liability of the Church increased from `60 crore to `84 crore after the land deal.