Posted on 08/03/2006 9:15:42 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
The Catholic Church in Kerala, concerned about the declining population of the community, will now ask the believers to embrace the Christian concept of sexuality that blends love and procreation. In other words, to have more children.
During the Mass next Sunday, a pastoral letter will be read out in all 26 dioceses in the state.
In the letter, Syro-Malabar Archbishop Cardinal Mar Varkey Vithayathil will remind the faithful of the need to lead a life rooted in Christian values and beliefs.
Also, to consider sex not only as an "instrument of pleasure" but also as "a tool to procreate".
Father Paul Thelekkat, spokesman of the Syro-Malabar Church, told the Hindustan Times: "There is a drastic fall in Christian population. The recently concluded synod of bishops had expressed serious concerns over the drastic fall in Christian population. So there will be some serious efforts to address this."
The letter says, "There has been a growing feeling that children are a nuisance to pleasurable life. Even those who have the resources do not beget for selfish reasons."
Blaming modern lifestyle for small families, the letter tells the congregation that if the situation continues, half the population will be grey by 2050.
The census figures and the falling attendance on Sundays have forced men of God to press the panic button. According to the 2001 census, the Christian growth rate came down to 19 per cent from 22 per cent.
PING
I see nothing wrong with reminding people of this.....I wish they would also remind them of the great sacrifice of their sons becoming priests and nurturing that instead of "I want grandbabies" first and foremost.
Marriage vows:
Promise to give of oneself freely.
Promise to give of oneself totally.
Promise to give of oneself faithfully.
Promise to give of oneself fruitfully.
These are all questions asked by the priest during a marriage ceremony. I hope we all remember hearing them!
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**I hope we all remember hearing them!**
And answering "I do" to all of them!!!!!!!!
This will put the Church at odds with the national population policy and Family Planning program mandated by the government of India and could lead to persecution by the government itself.
Did they consider the population of the country btw? India's population is blowing up. I hope whoever supports this will also be open to allowing immigrants to their countries from India.
Number 7 breaks out of the womb in November!
When our 4th was born we discovered a good line to use when people make odd comments about how many children we have, and we used it all the time:
"We like to think of [insert name of youngest child] as out middle child."
Finally that prediction will be true (but for how long?)
"We like to think of [insert name of youngest child] as our middle child."
How far we've fallen!
It's like going into a bulemics convention and asking people to consider eating, not only as an instrument of pleasure, but also as a means of nutrition.
congrats! Fr. Pacwa always says 7 is a good start.
Love it! LOL! I wish I could see the faces 8-)
Kerala has had a very low birth rate by Indian standards esp for the Hindu & Christian communities for over 30 years,so this is not alarming by national standards.Besides,most members of the Syro-Malabar church are relatively well-off & can provide for more children than the poorer folk seen in central or Northern India.The problem that these folks are not addressing is the high rate of migration to the Persian Gulf,Europe & America over the past 30 years which has led to considerable fall in population.
I have to agree, at least halfway. With India poised to overtake China as Most Populous Country, asking people to have MORE childern strikes me as misguided.
This planet already holds over 6 BILLION people and we can see the problems only too well.
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Funny. My husband grew up with a friend who came from a family of 13 children.
Number 7 breaks out of the womb in November!
**
Congratulations! We need more good people in the world!
Considering your choice of words, though, as one who has given birth, I winced. You must be the father. :-)
Love the great comeback!
See post #12.
Big families are wonderful. A lot of lessons are learned by a child who has to share and has to pull his weight to help out instead of being treated as a cute little poodle that one dresses in the latest designer clothes.
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