Kerala alcohol ban: Universal Catholic Church has never advocated liquor ban
Kochi: The policy of the universal Catholic Church has been abstinence, by which the faithful are encouraged to give up liquor.
The Church has never approved of a forced liquor ban as it may not yield desired results.
Some within the Church argue that Kerala Catholic Church should not support the Government decision to implement the phased prohibition over the next 10 years.
Major Archbishop Mar George Cardinal Alencherry’s stress on abstinence rather than a ban is perceived by many as a practical approach to countering the social malaise.
Sources close to Mar Alencherry pointed out that once the ban fails, it will have far-reaching social consequences and this was what prompted him to speak of the “undue haste” behind the ban decision.
It’s true the Cardinal did not question the ban as such since the Temperance Commission of Kerala Catholic Bishops Council had already extended its support.
But he expressed apprehensions on the Government capacity to implement it.
Mar Alencherry’s view is premised on the hard drinkers’ desperation to get hold of the bottle and so a wiser approach is to educate and try to wean them off.
Sources close to CBCI president Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Catholicos told Deccan Chronicle that he had never been vague nor changed his stand about the closure of bars.
The Cardinal was equally surprised when the UDF Government decided to go the whole hog and ban.
“The Cardinal had a feeling that the Government had taken a hasty decision and whether they had undertaken a comprehensive study on the outcome of a total liquor ban”, said Fr Bovas Mathew Meloottu, spokesperson of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.
Gujarat, where prohibition is in force, has faced a series of spurious liquor tragedies.
The CBCI has also not supported a ban.
The Catholic Church which has a good presence in Goa, where liquor is available like soft drinks, has never sought prohibition there.
The same is the policy of the Church outside India as well.
