According to a lay group that’s helped lead the dissent called Almaaya Munnettam, a letter from the bishops in the Syro-Malabar synod was actually read aloud in just 10 of the 328 churches and other places of worship in the archdiocese.
A key question is whether dissenting priests will take Vasil seriously, since in the closest recent parallel to what’s happening today in India, similar threats against rebel priests in a diocese in Nigeria turned out to be fairly hollow.
“Are you with the Holy Father, do you wish to remain priests and members of the Catholic Church and of your Syro-Malabar Church, or do you wish to give preference to the voice of troublemakers” asked Archbishop Cyril Vasil Aug. 15.