Cardinal George Alencherry steps down as Major Archbishop of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
Dec 07, 2023
Ernakulam (Kerala) [India], December 7 : Cardinal Mar George Alencherry on Thursday said he has resigned as Major Archbishop of Syro-Malabar Church.
Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Cardinal Alencherry said that Pope Francis, who heads the Catholic Church has accepted his proposal to step down.
Curia Bishop Mar Sebastian Vaniyapurackal will assume the office of Administrator of the Syro Malabar Church untill new Major Archbishop assumes the office, he said.
The Pope, he said has also accepted the request of Archbishop Andrews Thazhath to step down from the post of the apostolic administrator of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese. Mar Bosco Puthur will be the new Administrator.
According to Cardinal Alencherry , he had intimated to the Pope on July 19, 2019, about his desire to be relieved, citing health issues. The Pope had then referred the matter to the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church, which had turned down Cardinal's request.
The Cardinal again submitted his resignation letter in 2022 November. Finally, it had been accepted, said the Cardinal.
Resignation accepted after carefully considering the increasing pastoral demands in the church and his health condition, the Cardinal said.
