Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Slovak Archbishop Cyril Vasil of Košice is seen in this file photo taken at the Vatican in November 2013 when he was serving as secretary of the then-Congregation for Eastern Churches. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)Slovak Archbishop Cyril Vasil of Košice is seen in this file photo taken at the Vatican in November 2013 when he was serving as secretary of the then-Congregation for Eastern Churches. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As controversy and deep division continued in an Indian archdiocese over the direction the priest faces during the celebration of the liturgy, the Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis named Slovak Archbishop Cyril Vasil of Košice as his pontifical delegate to help resolve the dispute.

The archbishop arrived Aug. 4 in Kochi, the base of the Syro-Malabar Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, the Vatican said Aug. 10.

Controversy and deep division continue in an Indian archdiocese over the direction the priest faces during the celebration of the liturgy.

But, according to a report Aug. 8 by UCA News, an Asian church news agency, the legitimacy of the archbishop's appointment was questioned by a large group of priests and laypeople opposed to implementing the uniform liturgical rubrics adopted by the synod of bishops of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in 1999.

Prior to the bishops' decision, some priests faced the altar during the entire celebration of the eucharistic liturgy, called the Holy Qurbana by the Eastern-rite church, while others faced the congregation throughout the liturgy. The bishops' decision was to have the priest face the altar during the eucharistic prayer but face the congregation during the Liturgy of the Word and again after Communion.

Priests in most Syro-Malabar dioceses quickly complied with the bishops' decision, although dispensations were issued for the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly and a few other territories. The bishops decided to end those dispensations in November 2021.

The Archdiocesan Movement for Transparency, a group of priests, religious and laity in Ernakulam-Angamaly, has protested the way the dispensation was revoked and has insisted on continuing to celebrate the entire liturgy with the priest facing the congregation as has been the practice since 1970.

After Archbishop Vasil, a former secretary of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches, arrived in Kochi, the group asked for proof that he was, in fact, appointed by the pope because neither he nor the apostolic nunciature provided an official letter of appointment.

Riju Kanjookaran, the spokesperson of the Archdiocesan Movement for Transparency, told UCA News Aug.7, "Our delegates met Archbishop Vasil. He is not ready to listen to us, instead, he wants us to simply comply with the uniform Mass adopted by the synod. It leaves no scope for any further discussion or dialogue."

The latest from america

Pope Leo XIV greets religious sisters during a meeting with officials and employees of the Roman Curia, Vatican City State and the Diocese of Rome in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican May 24, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Describing the Curia as the institution that preserves “the historical memory of the church,” Pope Leo called on these Vatican employees to “work together” with him “in the great cause of unity and love.”
Gerard O’ConnellMay 24, 2025
Paola Ugaz, a Peruvian journalist who helped expose the abuse committed by leaders of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, gives Pope Leo XIV a stole made of alpaca wool, during the pope's meeting with members of the media May 12, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Pope Leo offered a heartening message for a global media that has endured a pretty awful year.
Kevin ClarkeMay 23, 2025
If you think our enthusiasm for our basketball team was intense, just wait until you see our support for Pope Leo XIV.
Jack DoolinMay 23, 2025
“I don’t think he’s the kind of man who sends coded messages,” Cardinal Michael Czerny says in this exclusive interview with Gerard O’Connell.
Gerard O’ConnellMay 23, 2025