Syro-Malabar Catholics call for more dioceses, end to restrictions

Published: 2006-08-24

COCHIN, India (CNS) -- Syro-Malabar Catholics from around the world called for an end to restrictions on the Oriental church's administration and demanded more dioceses. Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, head of India's Syro-Malabar church, called for an end to "dominance of the Latin-rite" over the Syro-Malabar church, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. Cardinal Vithayathil spoke at an Aug.18-20 international meeting that brought together Syro-Malabar church leaders in Cochin, in Kerala state, the base of the Syro-Malabar church. The 400 delegates represented Syro-Malabar communities in Australia, Canada, Germany, Persian Gulf nations, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as in major Indian cities outside Kerala. Organized by the Syro-Malabar Catholic Commission for Evangelization and Pastoral Care of Migrants, the Cochin meeting was the first gathering of its kind.

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