Indian cardinal receives some solace in diocesan land row

Allegation of misappropriation of funds against Cardinal George Alencherry is unfounded, says Kerala govt

Indian Cardinal George Alencherry has received relief of sorts with the communist government in southern Kerala state saying an allegation over a diocesan land scam involving him is “unfounded.”

In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court of India on July 12, the government said: “It was found in the investigation that the deals regarding setting up of the medical college at Mattoor and the sale of 301.76 cents of land belonging to the archdiocese [of Ernakulam-Angamaly] were done after proper consultation as prescribed by the canon laws governing the Roman Catholic Church and statutes of the archdiocese.”

The affidavit signed by Xavier K. K, undersecretary to the Kerala government, further said that a probe found no misappropriation of money in the deeds.

“The allegation regarding misappropriation was found to be unfounded,” it said.

The government’s affidavit came in response to a notice issued by the top court after accepting an appeal filed by Cardinal Alencherry in April seeking the dropping of criminal charges.

Cardinal Alencherry, the head of the Eastern-rite Syro-Malabar Church, is seeking to quash an order of the Kerala High Court delivered in August 2021 subjecting him to face trial over seven criminal charges registered against him in connection with the controversial land deals done four years ago in Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese.

“There were administrative lapses and a lack of oversight on his part”

The cardinal’s attorneys had pleaded for an interim stay on the high court order but the apex court declined and instead proceeded to consider his case for detailed examination.

A group of priests and laity associated with the Archdiocesan Movement for Transparency (AMT) had publicly accused Cardinal Alencherry of selling off several plots of land over a period of two years, incurring a loss of about US$10 million for the archdiocese.

Cardinal Alencherry denied the allegations but reportedly admitted before the Church’s synod that there were administrative lapses and a lack of oversight on his part.

After sustained public campaigns, the Vatican divested him of the administrative role and appointed a metropolitan vicar archbishop to run the archdiocese.

The priests and laity continue to demand the cardinal’s removal from office until the court decided on his pending appeal.

AMT spokesperson Riju Kanjookaran told UCA News that the state government’s affidavit was an attempt to appease a religious leader despite the illegal acts being committed.

“If the government thinks that it can garner the votes [of Christians] on the basis of this action, it should remember that times have changed,” he added.