A significant meeting of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church’s synod of bishops kicked off 6 January in southern Kerala state in India.
The 54 bishops gathered to address key issues affecting the church, including a long-standing liturgical dispute over how Mass should be celebrated.
The controversy centres on the official rubrics, where the celebrant faces the altar during the Eucharistic prayer, which many priests and laypeople, particularly in the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, oppose.
They want to retain the traditional Mass, where the priest faces the congregation throughout. The conflict deepened after a peace agreement in July 2024 was broken, when Bishop Bosco Puthur tried to enforce the official Mass.
This sparked protests, with deacons and parishioners refusing to comply, even leading to the blocking of newly appointed priest administrators.
The situation escalated further with hunger strikes and defiant actions from priests and laypeople, calling for the synod to honour the July agreement. The protesters insist the dispute can only end if the traditional Mass is respected.
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