Dialogue, dialogue, dialogue! That alone is the way forward anywhere,
especially in the Church. The aggrieved parties in Kottayam diocese and Church
in
You can take our Holy cows to the stream, but can you make
them bend their stiff necks and open
their closed mouths to drink? So we have given that up for the moment. Now the
aggrieved parties in Kottayam themselves have come forward to set an example
for the closed mouths in their church.
Both are close friends
-- Two Alexes -- of this scribe.
Meplaton discovered me as his classmate, though I had forgotten him, and
visited me in Chicago and Ernakulam
in 2013. Sri Estapan the National
Coordinator of Knanites in
If not we have to give up on them for good and tell them:
“What you are speaks to us so LOUD that
we can’t hear what you say!” (Of course
they speak only when they sent down Diktats, which deserves to be ignored
since they ignore even Fatherly pleas
from the Pope.)
Alex Mapleton first wrote defending the practice of Endogamy in Kottayam. Alex
Estapan Coordinator of Knanites in US answers him quoting his paragraphs one after another. My request to you readers is to listen to
both carefully and send in your reaction to CCV or james kottoor.
Sri Alex Estapan’s Reply to Alex Mapleton's Article: Endogamy & the Archdiocese of Kottayam
The attached is a point by point response to your article
"Endogamy & the Archdiocese of Kottayam: Some Commonly Propagated
Falsehoods". We felt that your article needed a response since
it mentions about certain legal and canonical developments which were not
public, and we sense that there is an orchestrated attempt to
"educate" ordinary Knanaites. We have a different view of
Knanaya customs and traditions, and note many of your assertions in the
article are false. So, this response. It will be
forwarded to many individuals, blogs and attached in our website: www.kanachicago.org
With warm regards,
Alex Kavumpurath,
National Coordinator, KANA
A Reply to Alex Mapleton regarding the following Article
By Alex Kavumpurath, National Coordinator, KANA
Endogamy & the Archdiocese of Kottayam
Some Commonly Propagated Falsehoods
Alex Mapleton:
There are some people within Kerala and many more
vocal ones outside who are unkind to the Knanaya tradition
of endogamy. Also, it is not a secret that there are many, both laymen and
clergy, who are very unfriendly towards the existence of the arch eparchy of
Kottayam. These oppositions are becoming more and more conspicuous. During
the past few decades, these people have held parades and processions in protest
and convened public meetings and seminars to propagate their dissenting views.
They have actively recruited speakers and writers to speak and write on their
behalf. Besides, for years they have been sending written petitions to various
authorities in
Alex Kavumpurath (AK):
We are unkind to Knanaya tradition of exclusion because it
is unkind. We have a right to take
whatever actions to make it kind. I am
not and KANA is not against Kottayam diocese or Knanaya community. We are part of it. Our actions are to make this community a
better and stronger community by keeping all our children with us. Trying to end discrimination and exclusion is
not to destroy the community, but to save its soul and body. If anybody has any doubt, check with Jesus to
see why he opposed Jewish practice of endogamy at his time. Filing legal cases and complaints with
Against this backdrop, it behooves every
caring Knanite to become knowledgeable about the facts and the
framework in which our community and diocese function. Creating a smokescreen
or fog of falsehoods and suspicions may lead many uninformed and
otherwise innocent people into believing that Knanites are
‘unchristian’ in both our attitude and actions. Let facts speak for
themselves. Be well informed so we can explain our stand when need
arises. Hence this article.
AK: Lately we see this kind of articles in many places and
sense an orchestrated attempt to mislead people in the pretext to educate them
in response to what is happening in Kerala and
1. Expulsion of exogamous Knanites from
parishes/diocese and denial of sacraments/ spiritual needs
This is totally untrue; not even a single such case
exists. What usually happens is this: Any Knanite who decides to
marry from outside applies for permission to leave the diocese (PLAK) because
a nonknanite cannot be included as a parishioner. (Our diocese was
erected exclusively for Southists per the papal bull.) Anybody and
everybody are welcome in all our parishes to meet individual spiritual needs.
AK: This is exactly what Mar Moolakkatt responded to our
lawyer’s notice before filing the class action civil suit recently in
Kerala. I wonder how Mr. Mapleton and
Mar Moolakkatt can repeat this manifestly false statement. I am an endogamous Kna, I know what is
happening in Kna community. If what you
say is true, the question is, would you agree to keep Knas who marry
non-Kna? There is no such option. Though it is true that Pope St. Pius X
erected Apostolic Vicariate of Kottayam for the Knanaya Community on 29 August
1911 through the Apostolic Letter "In Universi Chrisiani” because of some
specific circumstances prevailed then, it is not true that this bull prohibits
inclusion of a non-knanite as a parishioner.
This Bull neither instructs to exclude Knas marrying non-Knas nor
prohibits including non-Kna family members.
This Bull should not be used as a basis to deny sacraments to Kna
faithful, and to exclude and/or to split non-endogamous families. This was the finding of the court in Biju
Uthup case. Our children are not anybody
and everybody, they are part of our heritage and all of them must have equal
right without regard to their endogamous and purity status.
2. Non-inclusion of an exogamous Knanite and
his/her spouse in Kottayam is against Christian doctrines/ biblical teachings.
Membership is what cannot be granted. Spiritual needs are
taken care of whenever requested. Canonically it is legal to have parishes
based on rite, language, nationality, or some other basis. (Knanites are
of Iraqi-Judeo Christian descent.) It is also exempt from the territorial rule,
that is, geographical boundaries. In 1990, Pope John Paul II promulgated a
special Code of Canon to safeguard and promote the unique or specific features
of the Eastern heritage. This is a safeguard Kottayam must make use of as much
as any other diocese. Apostolic tradition shows that there were Jewish
Christians, Gentile Christians, etc. Everyone that embraced Jesus’ good news
did become Jewish Christians. Jewish Catholics in
AK: Membership is what we want, other things will follow
that. If you read the Court Verdict in
Biju Uthup case, it is clearly stated that the practice of exclusion is against
Christian doctrines/ biblical teachings.
The fundamental tenant of Jesus’s good news is that you love everybody
equally, not just your own kind as the Jews practiced at the time of
Jesus. If you say that exclusion is a
sign of love, I have difficulty to understand the logic. Jewish Catholic diocese in
3. Is endogamy against any law or a violation
of human rights?
Endogamy is a matter of personal choice made freely and willingly. Any obstruction is a violation of the US Constitution. The practice of endogamy is a 16 plus century old tradition. A tradition with at least 30 years of continuous practice enjoys the force of law. Setting up qualifications for membership in a club, community, etc. is a common practice. Being born of both Knanayaparents is the ‘raison d’etre’ [mainspring] and consecutive principle for membership in the Knanaya community. Also, the characterization that observance of endogamy amounts to promoting Manu’s Code on the caste system is incorrect.
AK: It appears that Mapleton is confused here. Nobody is against endogamous marriage, that
is, marriage between a Kna and Kna, Black and Black, Italian and Italian,
etc. What we object is the practice of
exclusion, if one cannot marry from within.
Setting up qualifications for membership in a club, community, etc. is a
common practice, but if it is based on race purity, it is fit for a hate group,
not for a Christian group. So, Knanaya
practice is a relic of the caste system practiced in
If endogamy is not against any law or not a violation of human rights, then why the court in Biju Uthup case ruled against Kottayam diocese? Mr. Mapleton, please answer. The court found that the Knanaya practice is not based on a legally valid custom.
In defense of exclusion, Mr. Mapleton and others say “being
born of both Knanaya parents is the ‘raison
d’etre’ [mainspring] and consecutive principle for membership in
the Knanaya community”. I do not
believe a person like Mapleton who has a science background truly believes this
as the case. If this is true, why most
of the Knanaites, including Mr. Mapleton and me, have a physical feature of
fellow Indians (look at Mr. Mapleton’s good looking photo above). This was also confirmed by our DNA
study. The main reason why most of us
look like fellow Indians is that our ancestors after arriving in Kerala married
local people as they practiced when they were in
4. Purity of Blood
No credible or well- informed Knanite will ever
make such a claim. Many nonknanites having experienced the warmth,
hospitality, love and generosity displayed by Knanites have on many
instances, attributed that as the reason for our previously mentioned bits
of behavior.
Also no one has ever advanced “preserving the purity
of blood” as justification for the practice of endogamy.
AK: I cannot believe a person with Mapleton’s background
would say such a blatant falsehood. If
it is not for preserving the purity of our race/blood, why we insist to exclude
our non-endogamous and adopted children?
All our children are pure and precious, and let’s include all our family
members in our church and community as we do in our families.
5. ‘Knai Thommen’ just a trader?
A very poor description of a man with a myriad of
talents. Yes, by profession/ business Knai Thommen was a trader
who did that between the East and the
AK: I agree that Knai
Thomman was more than a simple trader.
He was a missionary, he had no problem to mingle with local Christians,
he even married a local woman (judicially confirmed by the court in Biju Uthup
case). If he can marry a non-Knanaya and
stay in Knanaya, why not our children?
6. Knanites and Missionary Work
In terms of evangelical work, Knanaya people have
always been in the forefront both outside Kerala and abroad.
Today, missionary work is not necessarily conversion to Christianity; it
is conversion of the mind based on the ‘Good News’ Jesus gave us.
We now have four bishops serving outside
of Kerala. There are 172 diocesan priests and 352 missionary priests as per
2008 statistics.
AE: I agree and we are proud of it, but this is not the
dispute. The issue is refusal to admit a
non-Kna person through baptism in Kottayam diocese. It is against church’s evangelical
mission. This is happening in Knanaya
because there is no true conversion of the mind based on the ‘Good News’ Jesus
gave us. We are still in a “Jewish
mindset”. Though this is a problem, we
do not object to this direct non-admittance as long as we include our
non-endogamous family members.
A Truth Never Fully Revealed
Each and every Knanite, male or female, who chose a
spouse outside our community, did so very willingly and deliberately after
seeking permission in writing, to leave our fold. In general, the factors that
favored that choice may be emotional (love) and/or economic (acquiring
increased assets, opportunity to go abroad—
AK: It is true that each and every Knanite, male or
female, who chose a spouse outside our community, do so very willingly, but do
not seek PLAK willingly. They sign the
PLAK form under duress. They have no
other option. If they can have an option
to stay, there is no issue. The suit
filed in Kerala and Canonical compliant filed in
Let me make an appeal for understanding. Even before Kottayam diocese was erected, Southists have enjoyed parishes set aside specifically for them with priests from their own community. Therefore, the resistance posed by Southists against inclusion of exogamous Knanites and their families in Kottayam, thereby violating the original Papal frame work for their diocese, is legitimate and therefore calls for tolerance on the part of others.
AK: I am sorry to say
that Mapleton’s appeal has no value. An
appeal for understanding and tolerance of racist and discriminatory practice is
not acceptable. All the children of
Knanai Thomman must have equal right in his family, the Knanaya community,
without regard to their endogamous and purity status. My appeal is that Mapletons of the Knanaya
world come to this realism. If you
don’t, we will make it happen, read the history!”
Readers are requested to send
their reaction to the following email
address:
jameskottoor@gmail.com