Thamarassery: A bishop in Kerala, southern India, has suggested that men should marry by 25 years and women by 23.
This was part of the recommendation from the second Eparchial Assembly of Thamarassery diocese held in the first week of January.
Bishop Remigius Inchananiyil of Thamarassery in a circular says he wants the new rules enforced immediately in his diocese that covers Kerala’s Kozhikode district and parts of its southern neighbor Malappuram.
The 55-year-old bearded prelate also says delaying marriage has resulted in a large number of unmarried men and women in society. Late marriages often cause difficulties in raising a family, he added.
The bishop also wants bridesmaids and flower girls kept out wedding ceremonies, especially inside the church. Such ceremonies should purely be directed by priests and church authorities. Event managers destroy the sanctity of the sacrament of marriage, he adds.
Bishop Inchananiyil also criticizes the trend of keeping bodies in mobile mortuaries and recommends that funeral be done within 24 hours of death.