Kerala's venerable Syro Malabar Catholic Church mired in multi-crore land scam

KERALA

Kerala's Syro Malabar Catholic Church (which the faithful claim is 2,000 years old) is in the midst of a raging row following allegations on social media about 'murky' land deals, with the finger pointing at Cardinal George Alencherry, the head of the institution. A section of senior clergymen now want the cardinal to resign, pending a probe by a Vatican-appointed pontifical commission.

As per a church circular issued on December 28 by the auxiliary bishop in Ernakulam, Fr Sebastian Adayanthrath, the church took a Rs 60 crore bank loan to purchase 23.22 acres of land to start a medical college in Matoor, near Kochi airport, in 2015. But with funds for the college not materialising, and citing the annual interest of Rs six crore, church officials decided to sell five plots it had in the Thrikkakara municipality to clear the debt. A deal was struck with a property dealer for Rs 27.3 crore on condition that the land would not be re-sold. But the realtor not only palmed off the holdings to some 36 different buyers, he deposited only Rs 9.13 crore in the church's account. Despite the glaring shortfall, Alencherry agreed to transfer ownership of the prime plots in exchange for 42 acres in hilly Munnar and Kothamangalam on the outskirts of Ernakulam district (in lieu of the balance amount). Incidentally, the 17 acres the church got in Munnar falls within the 'ecologically fragile' zone and is unusable since no construction is permitted.

Adayanthrath says the land deals have put the church's finances in a "mess", with a cumulative liability of Rs 84 crore. According to him, besides the financial trouble, the church is now also faced with a "moral crisis". Resentment against Alencherry is growing amid the 430 priests of the archdiocese. Senior clerics, including Fr Joseph Parekattil and Fr Augustine Vattoly, have called for action against the "culprits". Vattoly told INDIA TODAY that "established procedures for business transactions were clearly flouted" in the deals.

The Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese Church Commission has indicted pro-vicar general Sebastian Vadakumpaden and procurator Joshy Puthva in the deals. But curiously, it has been silent on Alencherry, who was signatory to the land deals on the church's behalf. Also lobbying on behalf of the cardinal is a group of churchgoers, the Save Syro Malabar Church Forum, who want action against priests like Parekattil and Vattoly for speaking out.

Meanwhile, the Vatican is said to be closely watching the developments in one of its oldest churches (it has an estimated four million followers worldwide). The permanent synod of the Church met on January 1 and took the view that the cardinal was not vigilant enough in transactions in the shady land deals. Alencherry, 72, is clearly in a spot. Given the clamour, it may not be easy for him to wriggle out of this one.