Almaya Munnettam, a group of lay people in the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese, and Basilica Collective jointly organised a protest and prayer in front of the St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica, which has remained closed for the past six months owing to differences between two groups in the Church over the way the Mass should be performed.
The protesters accused the apostolic administrator of the archdiocese, Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath, of locking down the basilica when he had failed to push his agenda and demanded that it be opened to lay people for worship.
The protesters also demanded Mr. Thazhath’s resignation and removal of Father Antony Puthavelil as administrator of the basilica.
The basilica was closed following a bitter standoff between the section that opposed unified performance of Mass and the one that favoured it.
