Shlomo Amado waPani Rose,
You are welcome. Also here is a link to the
English Edition [
asianews.it] of AsiaNews.It. What I found great about UCAN is that it publishes what people think. Here is a news item in AsiaNews that many will find interesting, and after that I will post an article from the Major-Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church concerning his request for his Church to be elevated to the Patriarchal level.
I would ask Fr. Serge if he will comment on what the Major-Archbishop has to say.
Fush BaShlomo,
Yuhannon
Holy See-Israel delegation speeds up work ahead of pope's visit to Holy Land [
asianews.it]
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - The permanent bilateral commission between the Holy See and the state of Israel today concluded its plenary meeting at the foreign ministry in Jerusalem, and decided on a packed schedule of meetings, leading to hopes that some conclusion might be reached before the probable visit of Benedict XVI to the Holy Land in May of 2009.
In the statement released at the end of today's meeting, it is affirmed that "the working-level Commission will hold meetings on 15 January, 18 February, 5 March and 26 March." This is rather unusual, if one considers that the dialogue has been proceeding at a very slow pace for about 10 years, and for almost 5 years (from 2002-2007) has been at a halt. The plenary meeting - which according to custom should have been held in June of 2009 - was also moved up. The statement says that "it was agreed to hold the next Plenary meeting on 23 April 2009," and that the packed agenda is intended to demonstrate the commitment of the two delegations to "accelerate the talks and conclude the agreement at the earliest opportunity."
In ecclesial circles in the Holy Land, this sudden hurry of the mixed commission is seen in connection with the desire to reach some result before the expected visit of Benedict XVI to the Holy Land. Although the Vatican has not yet confirmed or denied this, in Israel, Palestine, and Jordan it is thought that the pope will arrive in the Holy Land in the first half of May.
As in previous statements, the one released today also speaks of "an atmosphere of great cordiality and good will"; of work aimed at "achievement of the mutually desired accord" and of exchanges "significant and helpful" for "both sides." For almost 10 years, the Church and the state of Israel have been trying to reach an agreement to reconfirm the historical tax exemptions for the Church, and to agree on rules for the protection of Church property, especially the holy sites.
INDIA Cardinal Vithayathil Seeks Patriarchal Status For His Oriental Church [
ucanews.com]
KOCHI, India (UCAN) -- The head of the Syro-Malabar Church (SMC) says the Vatican should grant patriarchal status to his Oriental Catholic Church.
Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil of Ernakulam-Angamaly, SMC major archbishop, spoke on the matter while addressing a Church seminar in the southern Indian state of Kerala, where his Church is based.
The Oct. 8 seminar discussed how the Second Vatican Council decree "Orientalium Ecclesiarum" ("On the Catholic Churches of the Eastern Rite," 1964), relates to the SMC.
The cardinal's Church and the smaller Syro-Malankara Church are the two Oriental rites in India, both of which trace their origin to Saint Thomas the Apostle, who local tradition says landed in Kerala in 52. They and the Latin-rite Church together form the Catholic Church in India. The Latin rite is the product of European missionary activities since the 15th century.
Cardinal Vithayathil pointed out that 40 years ago, "Orientalium Ecclesiarum" allowed for the creation of new patriarchates. He said many people agree the SMC should be given "patriarchal dignity" because of "its apostolic origin and the present vitality and expansion."
A patriarch heads a federation-like system of dioceses of a particular rite. Together with a Church synod, he exercises autonomous jurisdiction over the faithful of his rite, besides independently managing administrative matters and liturgy in his Church. Besides the Latin-rite patriarch of Jerusalem, the Catholic Church currently has six other patriarchs, who head rites based in the ancient centers of the Eastern Church.
One of them is the patriarch of Chaldea (East Syria), with which the SMC had links until the 16th century. The Antiochean (West Syrian) branch has two patriarchs, for the Syrian and Maronite rites. The Armenian Church, Alexandrian Coptic Church and Byzantine Melkite Church are the other three ritual Churches headed by patriarchs.
Cardinal Vithayathil said the final decision on his suggestion for granting his Church patriarchal status "rests with the Roman pontiff."
The cardinal is based in Kochi, 2,595 kilometers south of New Delhi. His comments came during his keynote address at a seminar in Changanacherry, 95 kilometers southeast of Kochi.
The cardinal said no other Eastern Church would oppose the Vatican if it conferred patriarchal status on the SMC. He contrasted this with the situation involving the Ukrainian Catholic Church, whose 4 million members make it the largest Oriental rite. It has been asking for patriarchal status for many years, but the Vatican has not granted this request, reportedly because of opposition from the Russian Orthodox Church.
The SMC is the second-largest Oriental rite. Most of its 3.5 million members are in Kerala. Of its 26 dioceses, however, 10 are in other Indian states and one is based overseas in Chicago, the United States.
Cardinal Vithayathil and the SMC synod have their authority restricted to the dioceses based in Kerala.
Asked why the cardinal has suddenly raised the demand for a patriarchate, SMC spokesperson Father Paul Thelakat answered, "It is not a sudden demand." Vatican Council II "clearly said" new patriarchates would be set up "where there is need," he continued.
Father Thelakat said he does not know if the cardinal has officially placed the demand before Pope John Paul II. Speaking to UCA News on Oct. 11, he cited two reasons why the SMC deserves the status. "It is an ancient, apostolic Church," he said. "Second, there is no opposition in India from other Churches to designating SMC a patriarchal Church."
Asked why SMC leaders earlier accepted the Latin-rite post of cardinal instead of insisting on patriarchal status, the priest pointed out that the SMC was not even "a sui juris" (self-governing) Church when the Vatican appointed a cardinal from it in 1988.
Latin-rite bishops, who used the Roman Catholic system, governed the SMC from the 16th century until 1896. Earlier, Christians of the St. Thomas tradition had remained a single community. They received spiritual support and leadership from East Syria. The last Syrian Bishop, Mar Abraham, died in 1597.
Under Latin-rite bishops, the SMC adopted most of the liturgical practices and administrative systems of the Latin Church. It continued those practices even after the Vatican created separate SMC dioceses in 1986.
During the past three decades, however, a group in the SMC including some bishops have pressed for restoring the Church's original traditions, a move opposed by another faction that wants revision along modern lines.
The pope intervened in 1992 and raised the SMC to the status of a major archiepiscopal sui juris Church. However, the pope reserved the powers to decide on liturgical matters and to appoint SMC bishops.
In 1998, the pope withdrew the reservation on liturgical matters, and this January he gave the SMC synod the right to elect its bishops in Kerala.
Cardinal Vithayathil quoted from "Orientalium Ecclesiarum" in asserting that that the universal Church wants the Oriental Churches to flourish, not just to preserve their liturgies and ecclesiastical traditions.
The document states that Eastern and Western Churches "are of equal rank," he said. But this equality "is not accepted in certain quarters," the SMC leader continued, adding that "the attitude of some still seems to be that the Latin Church is more equal than others."
According to the cardinal, thousands of SMC Catholics have migrated to different parts of India and live under Latin-rite bishops who are unable to give them proper pastoral care. "This is an agonizing situation for the major archbishop and for the SMC," and there are signs of revolt out of frustration in certain places, he said.
"How long can people suffer when they are denied their legitimate rights in the Church, affirmed in several documents of Vatican II?" he asked.
Cardinal Vithayathil called it a "very unjust situation" that the SMC faces restrictions on missionary work.
