Priest defrocked by Pope ordained as bishop

By Matters India Reporter

Thiruvalla: The Apostolic Catholic Church of India on January 4 ordained as a bishop Anand Muttungal, who was recently dismissed from priesthood by Pope Francis.

Muttungal’s episcopal ordination was held at Greek Orthodox Church in Thiruvalla, Kerala, according to a press release from Bishop Babu George of the Apostolic Catholic in India.

The new bishop will be in charge of the Church’s mission dioceses in India, the press release says.

Bishop Muttungal will be based at Bhopal, where he had earlier served as the spokesperson of the Catholic Church in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

The ordination was presided over by Thomas Mar Osthathios, the Metropolitan of Kodungallur diocese. Others present were Bishop Sunny Abraham Panachamottil of the United Church of India and Bishop Babu George.

Bishop George welcomed the new prelate to the “Communion of Apostolic Catholic Church in India.”

Metropolitan Osthathios says the episcopal ordination is a call from God “to serve God and his people in the traditions and teachings of the Apostles strongly founded in the Holy Gospel.”

The press release quoted Bishop Muttungal as saying that he has been working the unity of Christians and interreligious harmony in India. “I will continue my mission,” he added.

He thanked God for his new mission that came to him “through the indirect work of Pope Francis and Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Roman Catholic Church of Bhopal.”

Muttungal had served as the Bhopal archdiocesan public relations officer for seven years first under Jesuit Archbishop Pascal Topno and then Archbishop Cornelio.

The 48-year-old activist priest had also acted as the spokesperson of the Catholic Church in Madhya Pradesh.

However in 2013, Muttungal had allegedly rebelled when he was removed from the post of public relation officer.

He filed a complaint that the prelate along with his vicar general Father V C Mathew and archdiocese spokesman Father P J Johny had conspired to make him mentally unstable through slow poisoning. On February 7, 2013, a magistrate ordered the registering of a case against the three accused.

Announcing Muttungal’s dismissal from priesthood, Archbishop wrote: “Now, with regret and pain I wish to formally communicate to everyone that by an official decree from our Supreme Pontiff Pope Francis, dated 22 October 2020, Anand Muttungal (Joseph M.T) of the Archdiocese of Bhopal, has been dismissed in poenam (penalty) from the clerical state and dispensed from all his clerical obligations, including that of celibacy.”

In 2020, Muttungal was released from a jail in Bhopal after 50 days. He was arrested on December 11, 2019, from his residence by the officials of Economic Offence Wing (EOW), a special branch of the state police dealing with economic offences.

He was later produced before a special court that remanded him to 15-day judicial custody. Muttungal was released from the jail after he furnished a bond of 50,000 rupees.

(The story was amended for better clarity and brevity)