Pope Francis met on May 13 with Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil, the head of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. The Pope’s address to Archbishop Thattil ranged over a number of topics, from the ancient history of the Church in Kerala to the liturgical dispute which has been raging there for a number of years.
Pope Francis began his address by reflecting on the ancient faith of the Syro-Malabar Church. “The faithful of your beloved Church”, he said, “are known not only in India, but throughout the whole world, for the ‘vigour’ of their faith and piety.” Referring to the fact that, for many years, Western missionaries attempted to force Kerala’s Christians to conform to European traditions, Pope Francis said that “some members of the faith” committed “unfortunate acts against you”, because of their “insensitivity” to the history of India’s ancient churches. The Syro-Malabar Church, the Pope added, is particularly important today, in times where it is common to “sever the roots connecting us to the past.” “The Christian East”, he said, “allows us to draw from ancient and ever new sources of spirituality; these become fresh springs that bring vitality to the Church.”
Referring to the ongoing liturgical controversy, the Pope said, “let us meet and discuss without fear, this is fine, but above all, let us pray, so that the light of the Spirit, which reconciles differences and brings tensions back into unity, may resolve disputes. There is one certainty: pride, recriminations and envy do not come from the Lord and never lead to concord and peace. Showing a grave lack of respect for the Blessed Sacrament – the Sacrament of charity and unity – by arguing about the details of how to celebrate the Eucharist, the pinnacle of his presence among us, is incompatible with the Christian faith. The guiding criterion, the truly spiritual one that derives from the Holy Spirit, is communion: this requires us to do a self-examination of our dedication to unity and our faithful, humble, respectful and obedient care for the gifts we have received.”