By Matters India Reporter
Kochi: Catholic bishops in Kerala warn that the drastic fall in the birth rate among Christians threatens the community’s existence in the southern Indian state.
The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) that met August 2-6 expressed grave concern over the dangerously low birth rate among Christians who once accounted for one fourth of the state’s population.
The monsoon summit also discussed protection of life, alleged anti-Christian trend in the cultural and media sector, death of Jesuit human rights defender Father Stan Swamy, and reported demolition of churches in various parts of the country.
A statement issued after the meeting points out that in the 1950s, Christians had formed 24.6 percent of Kerala’s population. “But now it has reduced to 17.2 percent,” the bishops bemoaned
The Christians’ current birthrate of 1.8 percent is the least among the state’s religious groups. “It is in this situation that various dioceses have come forward with projects to support families with more children. It is not logical to consider population reduction as the only solution for social crises which arise due to improper development policies,” the bishops’ council stated.
The Kerala prelates drew attention to China and other developed countries with low birth rates that are now forced to rethink their policies because of the ill effects.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church in Kerala observed August 10 as a day of protection of life. The day marked the 50th anniversary of India allowing abortion.
The KCBC Family Commission called for ringing the church bells and prayers for the fetuses that were aborted. Other pro-life activities were also held in parishes across the state. Various activities were held in all 32 Catholic dioceses in the state as part of the observation of ‘Day of Protection of Life.’
India legalized abortion through the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act in 1971. The Act was amended in 2003 to enable women’s accessibility to safe and legal abortion services.
This year, the MTP Amendment Act 2021 that allows women to seek safe abortion services on grounds of contraceptive failure, increase in gestation limit to 24 weeks for special categories of women, and opinion of one provider required up to 20 weeks of gestation.
Before 1971, abortion was criminalized under Section 312 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, describing it as intentionally “causing miscarriage.” Except in cases where abortion was carried out to save the life of the woman, it was a punishable offense and criminalized women/providers, with whoever voluntarily caused a woman with child to miscarry facing three years in prison and or a fine, and the woman availing of the service facing seven years in prison and/or a fine.
The bishops justified the decision of Pala, Idukki and Thamarassery dioceses to reward families with four or more children. Pastoral letters were read in many churches in the state two weeks ago reminding believers about their “family duty and obligation.”
Father Paul Simenthy, secretary of the KCBC family commission, said: “Drastic fall in birth is a serious concern. There are many policies to support families that receive more children. We have to formulate more such plans to encourage family life.”
Pala diocese in Kottayam was the first, last week, to announce 1,500 rupees as monthly assistance for couples married after the year 2000, who have four or more children. The church also offered free education and medical care for siblings and parents, relying on its control of several educational institutions and hospitals in the state. Later many dioceses followed suit.
The Kerala bishops also urged the state government’s immediate intervention in constructing breakwaters to protect coastal regions which are prone to coastal erosion. “Sand retrieved through dredging for increasing the depth at Kochi seaport should be used for protection in areas facing coastal erosion,” said KCBC.
On the recent death of Father Swamy while in custody, KCBC said the government has the responsibility to prove the accusations made against him before the public. “The government should initiate measures to investigate the truth behind the charges leveled against him,” the bishops demanded.
The statement also mentioned about the right to worship and freedom of expression. “The council has observed that an anti-Christian inclination is rising in media and cultural spheres. In the field of arts, especially film, there are increasing attempts to defame Christian symbols, sacraments and teachings. We hope that the responsible parties would understand the concerns of the community and make the required corrections,” the statement said.