Leaders of the Syro-Malabar Church (SMC), getting ready to celebrate the birth centenary of Pope Leo XIII, say the pontiff helped their Church grow with a new identity.
“The Syro-Malabar Church remembers Pope Leo XIII with a deep sense of gratitude,” says Father Raphael Ambadan, a Church historian in Kerala, where the Oriental Church is based.
Pope Leo XIII gave the Syro-Malabar Catholics independence and freed them from a Latin archdiocese’s control, the priest told ucanews.com yesterday.
In 1887, the pope set up two vicariates exclusively for the Syro-Malabar Catholics who trace their faith to Saint Thomas the Apostle. For centuries these Catholics had been under Latin jurisdiction.
Father Ambadan says the establishment of the vicariates “had a tremendous impact on the Syro-Malabar Christians.”
The SMC grew rapidly and in 1923 Rome set up a separate hierarchy for the Church.
“Thereafter, numerous dioceses and congregations came up,” Ambadan said, adding that Pope Leo encouraged a missionary spirit among the natives.
SMC now has some 3.5 million people spread across 29 dioceses, including one in northern America.
Father Ambadan, who teaches in St. Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary, Alwaye, recalled the Pope’s observation about the future of the Indian Church.
“My dear Indians, salvation should come through your own missionaries. You should not depend on Western missionaries at all.”
Father Alex Tharamangalam, rector of St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary, Kottayam, says the Pope’s conciliatory attitude helped resolve inter-rite disputes in the Indian Church.
“He always solved disputes through dialogue and love. His impact on the Syro-Malabar Church is incalculable,” he told a seminar the Kerala Church organized on Nov. 27 to mark the bicentenary.
Father Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary general of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council, told the seminar that Pope Leo had repeatedly stressed the need for the SMC Catholics to follow their rituals and practices instead of joining the Latin rite.
SIC: CTH/INDIA
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