Kochi: A Catholic Bishop in Kerala has landed in trouble after he decided to adopt a 26-year-old woman as his daughter, with some priests openly questioning the act saying adoption was against the Canon Laws.
Archbishop of Verapoly, Daniel Acharuparambil, the supreme head of the Latin Catholics in the state, has already questioned the decision of 58-year-old Kochi Bishop John Thattungal and submitted a report to Papal representative
Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana.
The report has been forwarded to the Vatican. The adoption was registered at the Mattancherry Sub-Registrar's office in September. The woman is the daughter of an orthodox priest hailing from Pathnamthitta district, church sources said.
She was reportedly staying in a homestay inside the compound of the Bishop's house for a while, but left for Pathanamthitta after the controversy surfaced.
The sources said the Bishop had met the woman when he had undertaken a holy journey along with her parents few months ago.
Meanwhile, six Forane vicars of the Diocese of Cochin, representing about 36 churches under the Kochi dioceses, met Archbishop Acharuparambil on Tuesday to register their protest against the Bishop's action.
According to them, the Bishop's claims that the woman had 'special spiritual powers' and had given him 'extraordinary spiritual experience' were senseless and against Church laws and tradition. They also questioned the Bishop's moral and ecclesiastical right to adopt a lay woman.
Rev Josie Kandanathuthara said the Archbishop asked them to wait as his report had already been forwarded to the Pope and some action was likely to follow.
He said no lobby was working against the Bishop.
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