Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Leo XIV published an apostolic letter yesterday in the form of a motu proprio entitled *Mutua concordia*, by which he introduced new regulations for the Eastern Churches that closely affect certain Catholic communities in Asia. The measure aims to address cases of serious and irreparable breakdown in relations between a patriarch and the Synod of Bishops of his Church, granting the Synods – under certain conditions and with the Pope’s consent – the power to remove a patriarch or a major archbishop. The stated aim is to strengthen the responsibility of the Synods and, in the most serious situations, to restore ecclesial unity and communion.
Within the Catholic Church, the Eastern Churches are characterised not only by a rite distinct from the Latin rite but also by their own canon law, governed by the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, which recognises specific powers for the Synods. There are currently six patriarchal Churches: the Maronite Church (Lebanese), the Chaldean Church (Iraqi), the Syriac Catholic Church, the Greek-Melkite Church (widely present throughout the Middle East), the Armenian Catholic Church and the Coptic Catholic Church. To these, however, must also be added the four major archiepiscopal Churches to which – as specified in the motu proprio *Mutua concordia* – the new rules on the possibility of removing the leader elected by the Synod apply by analogy: the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Romanian Greek Catholic Church and the two Indian Churches of the Eastern Rite: the Syro-Malabar Church and the Syro-Malankara Church.
The new legislation – which amends canons 106 and 126 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches and came into force immediately – stipulates that, should the patriarch or major archbishop fail to fulfil the obligations laid down in the Code, the Synod may also be convened by the bishop who is the most senior in terms of episcopal ordination, should the Patriarch fail to convene it.
In the event of a serious cause recognised by the Synod, the latter may ask the Patriarch to resign from office. Should he refuse, the Synod may proceed to a secret ballot: at least two-thirds of the members entitled to vote will be required for his removal. The motu proprio specifies that the Patriarch must be guaranteed the full right to a defence.
However, the decision will not be final without the Pope’s assent. As is the case with the election, it will in fact be the Pope’s responsibility to verify that the Bishops’ votes were cast freely and without undue pressure, thereby assuming a role as guarantor.
In the introduction to the apostolic letter, Pope Leo XIV states that “should the sacred bond between the Pater et Caputand the other bishops be irreparably compromised, this would constitute a grave wound that must be remedied, as also urged by numerous Eastern prelates”.
Behind these words, it is not difficult to discern certain painful situations which, in recent years, have caused serious divisions within some of these Churches. Particularly severe – for example – was the schism within the Syro-Malabar Church in India, which in 2023 led to the resignation of the Major Archbishop, Cardinal George Alencherry. The new regulations issued by Leo XIV therefore aim to fill a gap in the Code of Oriental Churches, but also to strengthen the role of synods in managing internal conflicts within communities.
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