Kerala Church leaders begin anti- liquor campaign

(Feb.01, 2012) Church leaders in southern India’s Kerala State on Monday declared war on liquor consumption, maintaining that alcohol abuse is the root-cause behind many broken families. The Church is planning to list drinking as a cardinal sin that should be confessed, said Fr.Antony T James, secretary of the Temperance Commission of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC). The commission is drafting a proposal in this regard for the council which should be finalized by June, he said. People in Kerala are said to be the biggest drinkers in India, drinking three times the national average. A recent study by the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre revealed that alcohol dependency is even spreading among children aged 10-15. “Alcoholism is a social menace which is destabilizing families and claiming thousands of lives every year,” Fr James said. We have been demanding a complete ban on liquor sales in the state. But the government is not willing to impose a ban because liquor sales contribute more than 50 per cent of its tax revenue, he said, adding that this revenue is in fact “death money.” A KCBC spokesman said the bishops would make a decision on the recommendation in August.