Kerala: Church flays Iyer on two-child norm

KOCHI: The Catholic Church has come out against the recommendations in the report submitted by the Justice  V R Krishna Iyer-led Commission on Rights and Welfare for Women and Children.Terming the recommendations autocratic, the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) said that restricting the number of children was a violation of human rights. “It is the right of a couple to decide how many children they need, not the state’s. The Catholic Church cannot accept the recommendations made by the committee headed by Justice Iyer, KCBC spokesperson Fr Stephen Alathara said. The activists of Krupa Pro-lifers alleged that the suggestions were the result of a conspiracy hatched by the agents of death. Krupa Pro-lifers director Abraham Puthenkulam urged the government not to implement the recommendations made by the commission.The Laity Commission of the KCBC and the Syro-malabar Church also protested against the recommendations in the report. The recommendations are challenges to humanity, KCBC Laity Commission secretary Jose Vithayathil observed. Laity Commission Syro-malabar Church secretary V C Sebastian also echoed Jose Vithayathil.“The suggestions made are a humiliation to humanity and motherhood,” Sebastian said.He also said that an agitation would be launched protesting the recommendations.The Syro-malabar Church said that the suggestions were Platonic and stand against the future of young people who are the greatest assets of the country. Neither the state nor the religion has anything to do with the right of a couple to decide how many children they would have,” Syro-malabar Church spokesperson Fr Paul Thelakkattu said