Cardinal  George Alencherry was on Dec 6 elected the president of Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC), an association of the Catholic bishops of all three rites in the state.

The head of Syro Malabar Catholic Church succeeds Abp Maria Calist Soosa Pakiam of Trivandrum Latin archdiocese. Bishop Varghese Chakkalakal of Calicut (Latin) will be the new deputy chairman of the council.  Bishop Joseph Thomas of Bathery (Syro-Malankara) is the new secretary general.

The KCBC meet regretted an increase in the vested interests in governance and the politicization of the education sector. KCBC has also reiterated that it will continue to try to resolve disputes between Orthodox and Jacobite Churches.

However KCBC’s move has drawn flak from a section of believers in the Catholic Church. Archdiocesan Movement for Transparency (AMT), a collective that have been functioning as a corrective force within the Church, has criticized the KCBC decision to appoint Cardinal Alencherry as its new leader.