With the first ever, successful, Knanaya human rights rally behind us and the ongoing struggle for a community’s right to exist is a hot topic these days, I thought, it is a good time to share my personal views on this subject. What prompted me to share my feelings is the following question from my son. He asked me the other day, “Dad, what are we fighting for? What is the purpose of this rally?”
My answer was that we want
to have Knanaya dioceses and churches every where there is a considerable
population of Knanaya people. These dioceses and churches will have the
membership exclusively for people who follow and protect the Knanaya
traditions. This will enable us to continue our traditions and togetherness at
the same time holding up the Catholic principles without denying anyone’s
desire to receive sacraments from our churches.
There
were many other follow-up questions. The answers and explanations, I gave, are
written below. At the end he was convinced. Whether our children will follow
the traditions will depend upon their personal choices later in their life. All
we can do is to share our knowledge and life experiences with them.
Note: I consider all of you
to be more knowledgeable on this subject but, I think, it is worth looking at
the views that convinced a 14 year old.
In
my observation, there are 2 crucial justifications for the establishment of
Knanaya dioceses and churches in North America and around the world.
1) Respect the
decree of St. PIUS the X.
2) Respect the 4th
decree from 2nd Vatican Council - Orientalium Ecclesiarum
Respect the decree of St. PIUS the Xth:
The
papal decree on the formation of Kottayam Diocese can be found by Clicking Here.
By
now, most of us are familiar with the Papal decree that created the Kottayam
diocese for the Knanaya community. This is the recognition of our culture and
traditions as seen from the Latin text below:
Latin:
“Nunc
vero cum tres Vicarii Apostolici eorumdem, quos supra memoravimus, Vicariatuum,
initis inter se consiliis per epistolam diei primi Martii huius vertentis anni
a Nobis enixe petierint, ut ad spirituali illarum regionum commoditati satius
prospiciendum et ad dissidentium animos consiliandos novus Apostolicus
Vicariatus in urbe vulgo “Kottayam” nuncupata erigeretur.”
English
(courtesy: Google):
"But
now, since the three Vicars Apostolic of the same, whom we mentioned above,
Vicariates, after mutual consultation by means of a letter, dated from March of
this year petitioned us, so that it was better, to comfort, to the inhabitants
of the land to provide for the spiritual and the new Apostolic Vicariate of
counseling to reconcile the minds of the common people in the city
"Kottayam" called up.”
The basis and status of
Kottayam diocese was questioned again while His Holiness John Paul the 2nd
was the Pope. In response, once again, the Holy See decreed to maintain the
current status in accordance with the decree from St. Pius the Xth.
With both decrees, from the
highest authorities of Catholic Church in place, we now have a group of selfish
and jealous people overruling them and causing confusion. As far as I am
concerned, both the Chicago Arch Diocese and the Oriental Congregation were
misled by these people when an effective counter voice was not present
at the time. In addition, I will not be surprised if there were some
manipulation by the Church hierarchy in Kerala that, eventually, resulted in
the release of the re-script in 1986.
None of these (arguments or
re-scripts) minimizes or overrules the decree from a Saint and a saint in
waiting. We can only pray for those who claim that they know better than the
Saints and the Holy See. So far they have claimed that the following people are
wrong:
1. Saint Pius the 2nd
2. Pope John Paul
the 2nd (soon to be Saint)
3. Mar Mathew Makil
4. The Northist
church leaders of Changanassery and Ernakulam who were working with Mar Makil
at the time
5. Own parents and
grand parents
Soon, they will be claiming
that Mother Mary and the Lord Savior himself were wrong. May the God bless them
and forgive them!
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