By Matters India Reporter
Kochi: A controversial land sale that has divided the Syro-Malabar Church took a new turn on March 17 when the pastoral council of Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese elected an opponent of Cardinal George Alencherry as its general secretary.
P P Jeradin was elected by a committee comprising priests and lay people of the archdiocese. His appointment reportedly comes as a setback to the cardinal, the head of the influential Oriental Catholic rite based in Kerala, southern India.
Jeradin belongs to the group that has opposed the prelate and demanded his resignation.
Some 190 persons, including priests and lay representatives from 16 major parishes in the archdiocese, participated in the council meeting held at Kaloor Renewal Centre, Kochi. Two third members are lay people.
Although the new members were elected as replacement of the pastoral council whose term ended last year, the Church leadership had taken the stand that they need to take charge only after the controversy ends.
The council’s office-bearers said they would address the land deal case in their next meeting.
The meeting opened with Father Paul Thelakkat, one the senior priests in the archdiocese, presenting a resolution in connection with the land deal. Following this, the council decided to discuss the land row at the next meeting.
This was the first meeting of the pastoral council after the controversial land deal rocked the Church.
Jeradin’s election came a day after the division bench of the Kerala High Court stayed police action against Cardinal Alencherry and three others in the controversial land deal case.
The cardinal faces severe criticism for not being vigilant in the land deals.
Father Benny Maramparambil, a priest representative, explained that a priests’ committee that had conducted an inquiry into the land deal found violation of canon laws.
Besides the cardinal, archdiocesan procurator Father Joshy Puthuva and Father Sebastian Vadakumpadan were also blamed for financial irregularities which resulted in huge loss for the archdiocese in buying and selling land. The land deals were also allegedly conducted without consultation. Saju Varghese, a realtor, had allegedly facilitated the deals.
The Archdiocese in 2016 had sold a three-acre piece of land in Kochi to repay 600 million bank loan. The loan was taken to buy land to construct a medical college, though the decision to build medical college was squashed by the predecessor of Cardinal Alencherry.
Lay people have formed the Save Archdiocesan Movement to expose the irregularities and to bring in correctional measures. Shine Varghese, a member of the movement, moved the Kerala High Court over the land deal.
On March 6 the single bench of the highest court in Kerala directed the police to book the cardinal, the two other priests and the middleman in the case as it found the documents submitted by a petitioner as evidence for the financial manipulations. On March 12, the police registered a case against them. However, the division bench stayed police action four days later.
Meanwhile, a youth wing of the Church reportedly attacked media persons for publishing news about the land sale controversy.