BANGALORE, India (CNS) Catholic bishops in the Indian state of Kerala said they would oppose state legislation that they feel penalises large families. "We will protest at all levels to ensure that this draconian proposal would never be passed," said Syro-Malabar Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Trichur, secretary of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council.
"We do not think this (bill) is a serious move. It is more a publicity stunt," Archbishop Thazhath told Catholic News Service Aug. 4.
"If the government is serious about this bill, we will spare no effort to oppose it," he added. "This (bill) violates the fundamental freedom guaranteed under the constitution."
The archbishop and the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council, which serves 29 dioceses in the state, were reacting to a population control bill drafted by the state Law Reforms Commission.
The proposed Kerala Family Planning and Control Bill would fine families about $238 for having a third child and would deny access to free education and free treatment in government hospitals to families with more than two children. The average per capita income in Kerala is about $675 per year.
The legislation also recommends punishment for those calling for more children in the name of religion or caste or on other grounds.
In June, church leaders urged Kerala Catholics to have more children, saying the percentage of Christians had declined to about 19 percent of the state’s 31 million people when the last census was taken in 2001. Fifty years ago, the Christian population of Kerala was 24 percent.
The government of Kerala has clashed with church leaders several times in the last few years. Two years ago, the government tried to control admission into the professional medical and engineering colleges run by churches; the government lost in court.
In June, church leaders protested textbooks they said ridiculed faith and religion while glorifying atheism.
