Bishop Yoohanon Mar Chrysostom takes office as the ordinary of Marthandom diocese

With the installation of Bishop Yoohanon Mar Chrysostom (Cor-episcopo John Kalloor) as the ordinary of Marthandom Syro-Malankara diocese in Tamil Nadu state July 1, public unrest subsided among Catholics who demanded that a “son of the soil” should lead their diocese.

Bishop Kalloor, 53, a native of neighboring Kerala state, said that while there was some resentment over the appointment of a non-local as bishop, “since I came here, I haven´t seen any. It just vanished.”

Some lay leaders say that although the diocese was created after considering the region´s cultural and language differences, the Church administration ignored the local people´s aspirations.

People have accepted the new bishop, but Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios of Trivandrum said he would continue working with the people for a native bishop, said diocesan administrator Father V. Maria Arputam, 48, a native priest.

The Vatican´s April 16 appointment of Bishop Kalloor “was a shock to the laity and priests here,” according to S. Jerome, 25, vice-president of the Malankara Catholic Youth Movement in Marthandom.

Some laypeople wrote to all bishops in India on April 24, complaining that their pleas to the pronuncio and other Church officials for a native son had gone unheeded.

However, the laity refrained from a more public protest so as to avoid public scandal, said Attoor parish treasurer S. Thomas.

In 1997 Marthandom was carved out of Trivandrum, the mother diocese of the Syro-Malankara Church in the southernmost district of Kanniyakumari.

Its first ordinary, Bishop Lawrence Mar Ephraem, died less than three months after he took charge in January 1997. Catholics in this first Malankara diocese outside of Kerala, speak Tamil and use it in the liturgy.

However, Syro-Malankara Catholics traditionally use Kerala´s Malayalam in the liturgy and trace their faith to Saint Thomas the Apostle.

The Malankara Marthandom Church mission was set up 68 years ago. Bishop Ephraem worked for more than 20 years for the socio-economic development of the local people, who are considered lower in caste than Kerala Malankarites.

Bishop Kalloor said the diocese now has “absolutely no caste or class” discrimination, since “once we are Catholics, we are one in faith.”

Consecrated June 29 in Trivandrum, Bishop Kalloor said that language is not a problem for him and that he knows the region´s culture well, as he studied in Tamil Nadu and worked near the Marthandom area.

The work Bishop Ephraem left behind is “thrilling, and we have a lot to do as the diocese is still in the initial stages,”.

Basic education of children, employment and higher education for youth are Bishop Kalloor´s priorities for the region, which he said needs further “socio-economic uplift.”

The new bishop said about two-thirds of some 25 priests in the diocese´s 65 parishes and mission stations are native clergy, and he has been meeting with them and with lay leaders recently to plan diocesan programs.