Council of priests restricts functioning of vicar general

KOCHI/IDUKKI: A council of priests under the SyroMalabar Church, Presbyterium, has decided to write to the Pope for an inquiry into a land deal that reportedly brought losses of crores of rupees to the church and the removal of church head Cardinal Mar George Alencherry.A church committee had earlier found losses in the sale of properties in Kochi carried out under the cardinal’s leadership.“A petition signed by bishops and priests will be sent to the Vatican within a week. The priests have demanded that the cardinal should step down,” Fr Joseph Parekatil , a senior priest belonging to the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese, told TOI.The church had decided to sell its five land holdings to repay a bank loan of Rs 58 crore it took in 2015 to buy 25 acres in Yordanapuram near Kalady for starting a medical college hospital. “The finance committee took an in-principle decision but didn’t work out the details.Cardinal Alencherry, Fr Joshy Puthuva and vicar general Msgr Sebastian Vadakkumpadan later decided to entrust the sale to a person named Saju Varghese,” a senior priest said.The properties sold included 60 cents near Thrikkakara Bharat Matha College, 69 cents on Seaport-Airport road near Naipunya School, one acre at Kollamkodimugal near Kakkanad , 20 cents at Nilampathinjamukal near Inforpark and 54 cents near Maradu. The revenue from the deal worked out to Rs 27 crore as per the understanding with Saju but it got only Rs 9 crore,” the priest said.It is learnt that the land was sold to Alexian brothers, a Belgium-based congregation, in violation of the agreement of the congregation. "The 1.05-acre plot at 'Karunalayam', Ernakulum, was given to the archdiocese for charity purposes. But the finance committee sold the land without consent from priests," the senior priest said.He said the archdiocese had a debt of Rs 90 crore now. "The interim report of the committee found that the cardinal and other priests were involved in the deal,” he said, adding that the cardinal had not revealed what actually happened till now. When contacted, the private secretary of the cardinal refused to comment. The priests’ council has also restricted the functioning of Fr Joshy Puthuva and vicar general Sebastian Vadakkumpadan.“None of us had any motive other than repayment of bank loan while selling off the land. I got involved in it only to help Fr Joshy,” Vadakkumpadan said.Confirming the restrictions, he said: “I still occupy my office but I am not authorized to sign cheques.” Vadakkumpadan said they decided to purchase around 70 acres in Kottapady near Kothamangalam as they didn’t get the expected amount from the sale of five land holdings.“We expected to sell this land at a margin and recover the loss. We gave the Rs 9 crore we received for purchasing this land,” he said. Other organisations have also raised doubts about the deal. “We will also write to the Pope soon to appoint a committee to look into it. Those found guilty should not be allowed to continue in their posts,” said V J Hyacinth , chairman, Mother Teresa Global Foundation.