www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News Cardinal Koovakad on Eastern Churches

Hello!
I recently had the opportunity to interview Cardinal Koovakad.
We spoke about his work in interreligious dialogue, of course, but I also asked him about his Syro-Malabar identity, the role he played in helping to solve the liturgical disputes in his own Church, and the representation of Eastern Catholics in the Curia.
You can read the whole interview in The Pillar [pillarcatholic.com]

I have seen some articles stating that the Syro-Malabar Church is now the largest Eastern Catholic Church, surpassing the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Both are threatened by external forces but the former has been particularly bogged down by in-fighting, as well. Hopefully, they can overcome their internal squabbles.

It is interesting to point out also that Cardinal Koovakad was temporarily given the Chaldean titular see of Nisibis as part of his ordination. It was a symbolic testament to the connection between the Chaldean and Syro-Malabar churches. It would be nice if they cooperated more. Recently, the heads of their Antiochene counterparts, the Syriac and Syro-Malankar churches, visited each other. A good starting point for cooperation would be the jurisdiction in the Arabian peninsula. I remember the Syro-Malabar Major Archbishop asking Pope Francis for permission in having their own jurisdiction there but I think he should be asking the Chaldean Patriarch instead.

As for the Roman Curia, it has been an issue of whether they are an organ of the Catholic Church as a whole or just the Latin Church. If the Pope truly wants it to be former, then each Dicastery should have representatives from the Eastern Catholic Churches.

I can't think of an external threat to the Syro-Malabar church, to be fair. The real threats are the pulls between modern charismatics, the Latin leaning perspectives and theological stands from the mega sister church, the Indianization trends, and lack of knowledge of Syriac language and practices.