Kochi, Aug 28 (PTI) Roman Catholic priests belonging to the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese of Syro-Malabar Church on Saturday strongly opposed a top Bishops' body's decision to implement a uniform mode of celebrating the Holy Mass in churches, saying any change in their mode of celebration would be disastrous for the Church.

The priests raised the voice of protest a day after the Synod of Syro-Malabar Church, chaired by Cardinal George Alencherry, "unanimously accepted" a letter written by Pope Francis to the Bishops on July 3, exhorting "all the clergy, religious and lay faithful to proceed to prompt implementation of the uniform mode of celebrating the Holy Mass, for the greater good and unity" of the Church.

Also Read | HPU Entrance Exam Result 2021 for UG, PG Courses Declared, Candidates Can Check Scores on Official Website hpuniv.ac.in.

Church sources said the decision to bring uniformity in the mode of celebrating the Holy Mass was taken after a 10-day long consultation in the synod of the Syro-Malabar Church concluded on August 27.

The Syro-Malabar Church has five Archeparchies, 31 Eparchies and 1 Apostolic Visitation, but only priests from Angamaly-Archdiocese have come out openly against the Synod's decision.

Also Read | Monsoon 2021 Forecast: Rainfall Activity Likely To Pick Up Over Central, West India From August 29, Says IMD.

Opposing the move to "impose" the synod's decision, the priests, claiming the support of around 500 priests of Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese and some 20 Bishops of other dioceses said they will continue to celebrate the Holy mass facing the congregation during the entire duration of the Mass.

Hours after the Syro-Malabar Church officially released a pastoral letter on the synod decision to be read out during Sunday mass in its parishes, the protesting priests met Antony Kariyil, the archiepiscopal vicar of Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese and conveyed their displeasure over the decision to "impose" on them the pattern of Holy mass being introduced "without consulting the priests and laity" who raised complaints.

Fr Kuriakose Mundadan, a representative of the protesting priests, said they will appeal to the Vatican, challenging the synod's order to implement the new pattern in the Holy mass.

"We are celebrating the Holy mass fully facing the people. But as per the new decision taken by the Synod, from November 28 onwards, we should celebrate the first part of Holy mass facing the people, second part should be conducted facing the Altar and the last part facing the people. We will not implement the new pattern in the Holy mass celebration in our parishes," he told PTI.

He said the priests have asked their Bishop Antony Kariyil and all those like-minded Bishops opposing the new pattern to appeal to the Pope.

"We have asked them (the bishops) to bring legitimacy to our practice of celebrating Mass fully facing the congregation", Mundadan said.

The priests said they would not agree to any changes to the more than 60-year-old practice of conducting Holy Mass.

"We are not going to read out the pastoral letter (issued by Cardinal Alencherry) in our parishes. We will obey it only after the Holy See takes a decision on our appeal," Mundadan said.

They alleged that a group of bishops supporting the changes were "using the letter of the Pope which is not having the binding nature" to impose the changes.

They claimed that the Pope, in his letter, has clearly stated that "unity should not be sacrificed at the cost of uniformity".

"Around 20 bishops opposed the decision to bring uniformity in celebrating Holy Mass. But some Bishops were simply dominating. They were trying to impose certain things. That is not synodality", Mundadan said.

The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church has not officially reacted to the protests by priests.

The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is one of the 22 Eastern (Oriental) Catholic Churches in full communion with Rome.

It is governed by the Synod of Bishops, headed by the Major Archbishop.

Cardinal George Alencherry is the current Major Archbishop of the Church with 5 million believers in India and abroad.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)