Aggrieved over the judgment and decree passed by the trial Court rejecting plaint under Order 7 Rule 11 of CPC, the present appeal came to be filed by the plaintiffs.

2. For the sake of convenience, the parties are referred to as per their ranking before the trial Court.

3. The brief facts leading to the filing of the appeal are as follows:

The plaintiffs are Roman Catholics and most of them are active members of the Parish Councils, its welfare Association and the Basic Christian Communities. They are also members of the Kerala Catholic Society and the Kerala Catholic Association of Madras comprising numerous Catholics hailing from the ancient Syro-Malabar Rite Church. Known for their deeply-held Catholicism, the plaintiffs have been well integrated into the Metropolitan Catholic community and many of them have held important responsibilities in public life. Catholic Church in India is a communion of Churches. There are 23 individual churches of independent rites like Latin, Syro Malabar, Syro Malankara, Alexandrian, Antiochian etc. All of them are constituent parts of the one, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. In India there are three important sui juris churches, viz., Latin, Syro - Malabar and Syro Malankara and that they are found in Chennai in the Archdiocese of Madras - Mylapore. As per rites set out in Canon Law with regard to Catholic Christians, it has nothing to do with any language. A rite is the liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary culture consequent on circumstances of history of a distinct people, by which its own manner of living the faith is manifested in each Church sui juris. Rite is decided by parentage, marriage or baptism.

3.1. It is stated that during early days, the Syro- Malabar Rite Catholics did not have any facility to have services conducted in their rite. Hence, in the year 1983, the Syro-Malabar synod had entrusted the responsibility of looking after the pastoral care of the Syro-Malabar Catholics in Chennai to the diocese of Irinjalakuda in Kerala. A priest was appointed with the approval and under the control of the Archbishop for this work in the same year itself. A center under the name “St. Thomas Pastoral Center” was established in the year 1985 on instructions from Rome. However all along till 2005, it was only a Pastoral Centre. Even prior to 2005, more priests were allotted from the diocese or Irinjalakuda to look after the growing spiritual needs.

3.2. It is further stated that on 18.01.1989 Archbishop Casimir Gnanadickam had given general delegation to the priest in charge of St.Thomas Pastoral Centre to bless marriages at the centre with certain conditions. Today, besides the Pastoral Centre, there are 13 other churches built and blessed in various parts of Chennai. There are 8 diocesan priests belonging to the diocese of Irinjalakuda, who are fully engaged in looking after the spiritual needs of the Syro-Malabar rite Catholics and through them, there are 4 religious priests and over 75 religious sisters, who are also engaged in the mission work. There are 19 units and 17 prayer groups functioning at present. However, independent Parish had not been established for the Syro Malabar Chruch since the need of the Syro Malabar Catholics was being looked after very well by the Archdiocese of Madras - Mylapore and the faithful of eastern rites did not desire any segregation.

3.3. According to the plaintiffs, few Syro-Malabar Rite Catholics made several oral representations to the different ecclesiastical authorities requesting a parish for the Syro-Malabar Rite Catholics, within the Archdiocese of Madras - Mylapore for effective administration. However, it was not granted due to various linguistic, social, political and practical reasons raised by a group of Syro-Malabar Catholics themselves including the plaintiffs herein who did not desire segregation from the Latin Rite Catholics offered in Madras- Mylapore Archdiocese. Synod Preparatory Committee, who studied the