I have send365 Letters to the pope Most Benevolent Holy Father, On behalf of the entire North American Knanaya Catholic Community, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, for all the help, support and willingness to listen and to let you know that it is well appreciated. I am Sabu Chemmalakuzhy, and I am the Action Council Chairman currently residing in Atlanta, GA, USA. The Vicariate Apostolic of Kottayam (which became the Kottayam Archdiocese later) was established in 1911 exclusively for the endogamy-practicing Knanaya Catholics by His Holiness Pope Pius X. During that time, almost all Knanaya Catholics lived in Kerala, and so the Kottayam Bishop had jurisdiction over all Knanaya laity. Therefore, they were able to practice their age old traditions and they established endogamous parishes within Kerala. The Holy See’s wisdom, guided by the Holy Spirit, did not see anything wrong in allowing this small group of faithful and obedient Knanaya Catholics to practice their traditions by allowing them to have their own parishes in which membership was limited to Knanaya Catholics only. However, the Knanaya people have always welcomed everyone in these Knanaya churches to celebrate holy mass and have helped them with their sacramental necessities. Also, they were always in the forefront in spreading the Gospel and in all activities of the universal Catholic Church, always obedient towards the Holy See. If a Knanaya Catholic chooses not to follow the Knanaya traditions, especially endogamy, he or she has the freedom to do that too. They will lose membership in the parish, however, but they are still very much welcome to the church, and can receive help with all of their spiritual needs. So there is no discrimination to anyone, and our rich values are practiced as a means for the survival of this small community. We are an ethnic community like the Syro Malabar Community and many others in the Holy Catholic Church itself. What we are asking for is to ask for what the Syro Malabar asked for when they were seeking to establish an Ethnic Based Diocese in USA. During the last several decades, a large number of these Knanaya Catholics moved from Kerala to various foreign countries, including countries in North America. Wherever they went, they established Knanaya Catholic missions/churches with the hope that they will be allowed to practice their own traditions, including endogamy, exactly like it is in the Arch Diocese of Kottayam. If practicing endogamy and having churches with membership limited to Knanaya Catholics is appropriated and acceptable in Kerala to the Holy See, how can the same not be appropriate in North America? Can the rules and principles of the universal Catholic Church vary from place to place? If the Pope who created the Kottayam diocese exclusively for endogamy-practicing Knanaya Catholics has been elevated to Sainthood by the Holy Church, and if the Spiritual leader and the first Knanaya Bishop Mar Mathew Makkil who approached the Holy See for creating the Kottayam Diocese was declared a Servant of God (in 2009) by another very pious Pope Benedict XVI, how can anyone call our request to create similar ethnic churches in North America as communal or unchristian? For the Knanaya Catholics, marriage from the same community has been a strict tradition and a requirement since AD 345 because of the advice of our forefathers who came from the Middle East to Kerala for Evangelization. So we request that the Knanaya Catholics in North America and around the world also be allowed to have the same rights and practices as we do in the Arch Diocese of Kottayam. If granted your permission, I promise you that we will build at least 100 to 150 churches within the next 5 years around the world. I have been writing letters every day to Pope Francis, George Cardinal Alencherry, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, and Bishop Mar Jacob Angadiath since March 4th 2013. On the 365th day (March 3rd2014) of writing letters, the Atlanta Action Council decided our plans for the next 3 years. 1. On June 1st 2014, the Knanaya Vimochana Yathra will start from Kottayam Bishop House to Ernakulam Major Archbishop House where I will walk 90 km. 2. In June 2015, there will be a Knanaya Liberation Walk, which will start from Atlanta Holy Family Church to Chicago Bishop House. I will walk 794 mi. 3. On May 2016, I will conduct a hunger strike in the Vatican, where I am prepared to remain until my death. Just as Jesus was sacrificed for our sins, I will sacrifice myself for the sake of my dearest Knanaya people all over the world. We, the Knanaya people, have been struggling for the past 3 decades. We want the end of this matter in a peaceful and non-aggressive manner. So, I kindly request for the Pope and the higher authorities to take this matter seriously and comply with our 30 year old request. Yours in Christ, Sabu Chemmalakuzhy Atlanta Action Council Chairman Day: 365th Date: 03/03/2014 1021 Nash Lee Dr. Lilburn, GA 30047 USA
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 00:55:15 +0000
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