The 29th Synod of the Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church, led by Cardinal and Major Archbishop George Alencherry, got under way here on Monday.
The deliberations of the Synod will be conducted online in the background of COVID-19.
A total of 61 Bishops from India and abroad will participate in the Synod, said a spokesperson for the Syro-Malabar church.
The Synod will continue up to August 27 with each of the days having two hours of interactions among the Synod members in view of the differences in the time zones of the participating Bishops.
One of the key issues that will come up before the Synod is the way Mass should be celebrated.
There have been differences of opinion over the issue. While there is a group that has argued for the Mass being celebrated facing the people, there is another group that advocates the more traditional celebration of the Mass with the celebrant facing away from the congregation.
A group of 466 priests from the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese has written to the Vatican demanding that the Mass should be celebrated with the celebrant facing the people.
The group of priests said that the practice had been on in the archdiocese for the past 50 years and it should be continued.
Similar petitions are learnt to have been sent to the Vatican from dioceses where “people-facing” Mass is celebrated.
Protest by laity forum
Meanwhile, Almaya Munnettam, a group of reform-minded Catholics in the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, demanding more transparency in church administration, has protested against Cardinal Alencherry heading the Synod.
The group staged a protest in front of Mount St. Thomas, the headquarters of the church at Kakkanad on Monday.
A spokesperson for Alamaya Munnettam said that since the Kerala High Court had said that the Cardinal should face trial, he should step down from his position.
The group also reiterated its demand that the Cardinal should make good the loss suffered by the archdiocese on account of the sale of lands that belonged to the archdiocese.
