The Vatican has ended its direct ‘pontifical’ oversight of an Indian archdiocese after settling the long-standing liturgy dispute that risked dividing the Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church.
Newsroom (08 July 2025, Gaudium Press )In a statement issued on July 7 from Mount St. Thomas, the Syro-Malabar Church’s headquarters in Kerala, India, the Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV had concluded the mission of Archbishop Cyril Vasil, the Pontifical Delegate appointed in June 2023. The decision, finalized on June 23, 2025, ends two years of papal administration over the archdiocese, which had been embroiled in a decades-long conflict over liturgical practices.
The dispute, which intensified in 2021, centered on the implementation of a synod-approved Mass requiring priests to face the altar during the Eucharistic prayer. While all 35 dioceses of the Syro-Malabar Church complied, over 400 priests in Ernakulam-Angamaly defied the directive, continuing to face the congregation throughout the Mass. This rebellion sparked protests, street marches, physical confrontations, and legal battles, escalating tensions to the point of threatening a schism.
Pope Francis, Leo’s predecessor, appointed Slovak Jesuit Archbishop Vasil to mediate the crisis. However, Vasil’s efforts to enforce the synod’s ruling without dialogue alienated many priests and laity, who threatened to form an independent Catholic Church to preserve their preferred liturgy.
A breakthrough came on June 19, 2025, when Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil and Archbishop Joseph Pamplany, the archdiocese’s vicar, reached an agreement with the dissenting priests. The compromise allows priests to celebrate the synod-approved Mass once on Sundays and feast days, while permitting their preferred liturgy on other days and for additional Sunday Masses. The agreement took effect on July 3, coinciding with the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, the patron of the Syro-Malabar Church.
“Most parishes will offer the synod-approved Mass on Sunday evenings,” said an anonymous priest, citing restrictions on speaking publicly. He added, “With the dispute resolved, there’s no need for continued papal oversight.”
The Vatican also ended the apostolic administration of the archdiocese, which had been managed through an apostolic administrator under Vasil’s authority. The Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, home to approximately 500,000 Catholics—nearly 10 percent of the Syro-Malabar Church’s total membership—serves as the seat of the Major Archbishop.
The resolution marks a significant step toward unity for the Syro-Malabar Church, averting a potential split and restoring local governance to one of its most prominent archdioceses.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from UCAN News
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