For the first time, the laity approached a court against its spiritual leader after Alencherry presided over a land deal that caused financial loss to the Church.
Cardinal George Alencherry. (Supplied)
Just two months ago, in what was widely seen as a move to appease the ruling BJP, the head of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Cardinal George Alencherry termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi an excellent leader, and added that no Christian has been persecuted anywhere in the country under his rule.
Within hours of making the statement, a significant number of priests and believers of the church — the largest and oldest among the Christian denominations in India — came out in public, ridiculing the prelate.
They felt the statement was part of a move to preempt a probe by central investigation agencies into a multi-crore land scam involving the cardinal. He has been soft towards the BJP and RSS ever since the scam became public in 2016.
He remained silent when Christians were targeted across the country, for allegedly engaging in religious conversion. The cardinal’s response was mild even when several Christians were killed in the ongoing communal flare-up in Manipur.
Cut to the present. Two months after making the statement, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated a probe into the sources of alleged black money involved in a land scam.
The ED has asked the Church’s apostolic administrator, Mar Andrews Thazhath, and procurator Mar Jacob Manathottam to appear before it this week with all documents related to the controversial deal in which the cardinal had allegedly played a major role.
Though the cardinal has not been summoned, officials confirmed to South First that he would be called soon for interrogation. As the central agency is tightening its grip over the Church leadership, the land scam is likely to cause more damage to the reputation of the cardinal and the Church.
As the news of the ED sending notices spread, dissidents in the Church convened parish-level meetings to denounce the cardinal and about 24 other Church leaders.
Such a scam and investigation into it by a central agency are new in the history of the Church, which claims to have inherited the legacy of Christ’s apostle St Thomas.
Despite the Global Catholic Church continuing to defend the cardinal, the trial in the land scam case is progressing at a chief judicial magistrate’s court in Kochi. The chargesheet blamed the cardinal for selling Church-owned prime properties in the heart of the city at throwaway prices.
The cardinal has been denying the charges. Alencherry started feeling the heat in March this year when the Supreme Court rejected his petition, seeking an order against a possible prosecution in the case.
The apex court directed the 77-year-old cardinal to face trial since, prima facie, there was evidence against him. The apex court endorsed a similar order by the Kerala High Court.
“Frivolous complaints against innocent people must be curtailed. But it is equally essential to punish the guilty after conducting a fair trial. All the subordinate courts have discussed in detail the prima facie involvement of the appellant in the alleged offences, and therefore it is not necessary for this court to reiterate the same. Having carefully examined the record of the complaints in question, we do not find any illegality or infirmity in the orders passed by the trial court issuing summons against the appellant archbishop for the alleged offences,” the Supreme Court observed.
The cardinal is facing charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery and criminal conspiracy under Sections 120B, 406, 409, 418, 420, 423, 465, 467, 468 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
The charge sheet said the cardinal presided over the land deal by entering into a criminal conspiracy with the local land mafia. It accused the Church head of selling prime land with a market value of ₹30 crore for just ₹9 crore.
The Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Church had to pay a fine of around ₹6.5 crore to the Income-Tax Department for tax evasion.
“Alencherry stooped to the level of a mafia agent. By presiding over the deal, he proved that he had scant regard for the rule of the law and he misused his spiritual position to take the law into his own hands. He sold the Church property for peanuts and no churchgoer can treat him as a priest anymore,” PP Jerard, a dissident leader and Pastoral Council general secretary of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese, told South First.
The Church’s laity is now planning a mass movement demanding his resignation.
“How can the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church engage in such criminal activity? With the ED now entering the scene, the Church is losing face. The previous cardinals were known for their honesty and probity,” Dr Paul Thelakkatt, a senior priest opposing Alencherry, said.
“It is deeply humiliating that a Cardinal of the church is trying to evade legal action for his misdeeds,” Fr Thelakkatt told South First. He also pointed out that the laity approached the judiciary against its spiritual leader for the first time.
Going by the Church website, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is the topmost among the 22 Oriental Catholic Churches which are in full communion with Rome. It is the second-largest Eastern Catholic Church after the Ukrainian Church and the largest of the Saint Thomas Christian (Nazrani) denominations with 4.6 million believers.
The Syro-Malabar Church is active in education, social and health-related fields. The Syro-Malabar Church runs 4,860 educational, 262 ecclesiastical and 2,614 health and charitable institutions.
Alencherry sold three acres of the Church’s property in Kochi at throwaway prices in 2016. The proceeds were meant for a medical college run by the Church. While the Church has so far received only less than ₹9 crore in the whole transaction, some real estate agents said the property was worth around ₹80 crore.
Church leaders supporting the cardinal termed the allegations a misinformation campaign targeting the Church.
In an apparent embarrassment for the cardinal, the permanent Synod of Syro-Malabar Church, which has four members other than Alencherry, observed that the cardinal was not vigilant while handling the land deals, which caused the archdiocese to lose a huge sum.
Sensing trouble, Alencherry offered an apology last year, regretting the lapses — which he reportedly termed as “technical” — at the Synod.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Catholic Association for Justice complained to the police, accusing top officials of the Church of corruption.
Its president, Paulachan Puthupara, according to a report in The New Indian Express, accused the cardinal and the priests of committing a criminal offence by evading tax and stamp duty, and selling the Church property at a throwaway price.
Asked if the Vatican would make a pronouncement on the case, Presbyteral Council Secretary Father Kuriakose Mundadan said he is sure that “they have already come to know of the matter”.
According to Church sources, the land was divided into 36 parcels before selling them. The major plots sold included 60 cents near Thikkakara Bharat Mata College, 69 cents on Seaport-Airport road; one acre near Kakkanad; 20 cents at Nilampathinjamugal, etc.
The hierarchical structure of the Church has remained rigid and top officials continue to walk away with impunity despite several charges against them.
Priests who are seeking the truth about the land deals hope that things would be different this time.
“This is an incident that should become global news and a lesson for those going awry. We would pray for a great outcome,” one of them said.
