August 26, 2011: The Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) is planning to introduce
environment protection as a policy - as it previously has done in the fields of education
and healthcare - to create greater awareness among the faithful, reports the Times
of India . The bishops are planning to convey this message mainly through its 6,000-odd
schools and 198 colleges spread across the state. The pro-environment draft is
to be finalized at the annual meeting of the Council to be held this December. “A
draft will be sent to experts in this area, as well as members of the laity organization,
the Catholic council. It will then be modified as per their suggestions, and the final
version will get cleared at the meeting,” says Fr Stephen Alathara, spokesperson of
the KCBC. The policy will cover the theological, philosophical and practical aspects
of environment protection, he adds. “Earlier we could make advances in education
and healthcare because we formulated policies for all these sectors. So we are now
giving much importance to environment protection too,” he added.