Misinformation on the Membership Criteria for Knanaya churches in USA

Contents of an email message received from Mr. Joe Thomas Vadasserikunnel is pasted below.

Friends,

I talked to many of my Knanaya friends (laity and priests) recently and came to the conclusion that there is wide spread misinformation prevailing in all segments regarding the Membership Criteria for Knanaya churches in USA.  This misinformation is leading to confusion.   I like to lay out a few facts for your consideration.

Angadiath Formula:

No strictly endogamous Knanaya missions in USA.  Non Knanaya spouses and children will be included in the mission. Please see the letter written by bishop Angadiath to Cyriac Parathara in 2003.

Moolakat Formula:

Only Knanaya persons born to Knanaya parents can be member of Knanaya churches. If they have a non-Knanaya spouse and children, they cannot be members. This was supposedly approved by Major Arch Bishop Varkey Vithayam and Bishop Angadiath in 2003. He has clarified this in his speeches in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Chaitanya-Kottyam.

Oriental Congregation Formula:

The reason given to us for the above formulas (to change the membership criterion in US from what is accepted in Kottayam) is said to be instructions from Vatican. The only document in the public domain is the letter addressed to Knanaya Community, dated June 07 1986 from Rev. Robert Kealy, the priest who was the Chancellor of Chicago Arch Diocese; quoting the rescript (Prot.N124/83 dated 1/30/1986) Cardinal Bernadin received from Oriental Congregation. The copy of this is attached. As you can see, it never talks about “membership”. It says that “Those Knanaya Catholics who married non-Knanaya spouses enjoy equal status in the ministry”. -----. Please note that the letter does not say that the non-Knanaya spouses and children enjoy the same equal status in the ministry as the Knanaya spouse.  The key word here is “Ministry”. There is a big difference between the word membership and ministry. (Ministry in a strict catholic context means, mass, confession, communion, etc.).  One does not need to have parish membership to receive ministry.

Is there any other written communication from Vatican asking to give full “membership” to such people in the Knanaya churches of USA? If there is such a letter, it should be published for the full community to see. Without it, there is no foundation for Angadiath or Moolakat to substantiate their respective formulas.

Official Church documents: No membership formula is seen in any US Knanaya church’s legal documents (The Article of Incorporation) filed at the local state government. There are also no by-laws of their own for any US Knanaya churches. All churches are even now operating without any official membership (Mission/Parish Register) although item 68.6 of Syro-Malabar diocese Procedure Rules published on January 01, 2003 requires such register.

So we have now three formulas different from what is customarily practiced by Kottayam Arch Diocese. First is by Oriental Congregation in 1986 and second and third in 2003 are from Moolakat and Angadiath respectively.  All are completely different! It is no wonder why the community is in total confusion and turmoil.

I believe obtaining Sui Juris status for Knanaya diocese is the ultimate answer for the current problem because then we can have one law for all Knanites all over the world. I appreciate the strong initiatives taken by KCCA leadership under Prof Joy Muprapalli to pursue an independent Knanaya church. One Bishop Mathew got us the independent diocese. Let us hope and pray that this Bishop Mathew will work diligently for his people to get them an independent global church and become its first Cardinal or Patriarch and be able to establish new Knanaya dioceses in Kannoor, USA, UK etc. Let us all work together for this goal.

Thanks for reading.

Joe Thomas Vadasserikunnel