Our cardinals seem to have an epidemic of “Foot in Mouth Disease”! The latest victim of this epidemic is Cardinal Vithayathil of Ernakulam. His exhortation to Catholics to produce more babies is absurd. His allegation that it is a sin and injustice not to do so, has crossed all bounds of decency (Have Good Married Life – More Babies). The Cardinal is talking the language of religious fanatics and zealots like some maulanas and the RSS. Both these groups have been advocating having more children for the population (read votes) battle. Now we have a venerable Cardinal who has joined their ranks.
The Cardinal’s statement is also a great insult to the Catholic laity of India. He says: “In pursuit of their selfish joys, even those who can afford to bring up children, do not want them. Those who have the means should come forward to have more children”. He further adds, “Couples are motivated by selfishness to seek their own enjoyment. There is sin and injustice to society behind not having children, by those parents who have the means and normal health.”
How has this venerable Cardinal appropriated to himself the right to pass judgement on the laity in general, by making such a sweeping statement? What does he really know about the stress and strain of modern family life? In my previous article “Cohabiting and Communion” I had said that celibate old males, sitting in boardrooms, should not be deciding what young, married couples do in their bedrooms. Cardinal Vithayathil’s latest diktat adds further weight to my earlier statement that married persons should be actively involved and inducted into the decision making processes of the Church on matters directly effecting them.
The Cardinal airs a prejudice when he calls couples selfish and socially unjust. We have heard of “Double Income No kids” (DINKS). This is when both are career professionals, and the demands of their careers could be such as to defer or even exclude having children. I would agree with the Cardinal that DINKS are missing out on the core purposes of marriage – companionship and procreation. However, this does not give me, the Cardinal, or anybody else, the right to condemn such behaviour as sinful and socially unjust. It is quite possible that such a couple is making a big sacrifice to make a noble contribution to society through medicine, science or social service.
Take the case of Prakash and Brinda Karat of the CPM. They had made a conscious decision not to have children, because of their commitment to society. Incidentally they hail from Kerala, to which State the Cardinal also belongs. Can we call such a dedicated couple sinful and socially unjust? In my hometown of Kanpur I have a close associate belonging to the Vishwa Gayatri Pariwar, a Hindu reformist organisation. He works against evils like dowry, female foeticide and casteism; and promotes various social and environmental issues. His name is Manoj Sengar. Because of his commitment to religion and society he did not want to have children. He had a hard time finding a soul mate that would agree to his pre-condition of not having children. Manoj and I have worked closely together on several social and inter-religious issues. By no stretch of the imagination can I term such a deeply committed person as being sinful or socially unjust.
What about the one lakh clergy and religious in India, 75% of who probably hail from the Cardinal’s home state of Kerala? If the Cardinal feels so strongly about having more Catholic babies in Kerala, he could encourage this vast army to get married and go into top gear production mode immediately! Does my statement sound horrendous? It is! I certainly do not advocate it. I have just used it for arguments sake, to counter the Cardinal’s convoluted logic.
The Cardinal makes another odious comparison, by referring to 25 countries of Europe that do not have enough children to maintain present population levels. I have heard that in Russia and France, the Governments are giving incentives to couples to have more children, to tackle the negative growth rate. We cannot compare a developed continent like Europe with poverty stricken India. India would take another hundred years to attain Europe’s current levels of social security and well-being. Here in India we are faced with a burgeoning population, and a severe resource crunch. We don’t have enough of basic amenities like potable drinking water, decent housing, primary health, primary education, sanitation and electricity. Despite rapid economic growth we still have starvation deaths and farmer suicides. The basic infrastructure of India is groaning under the weight of its burgeoning population. It is bursting at the seams.
All Kerala bishops live in huge mansions. The have a flagstaff on their cars (usually luxury ones). They fly to national and international conferences. What do they understand about making two ends meet? They have no end to their resources, both local and foreign. I suggest that Cardinal Vithayathil shift to Mumbai for a month, take up a job, and commute to work an hour each way, crammed in a sweaty second class compartment of a suburban train. What would he then have to say?
I would also not absolve the laity of all responsibility. No doubt a large number (why only the laity, what about the clergy too?) are driven by a consumerist society. All of us must lead by example, a life of simplicity and humility, to counter the consumeristic culture of today. Condemning people as sinful and unjust is not the answer. Let us lead by example as Jesus and Gandhiji did.
Was the Cardinal’s outburst fuelled by his own hidden agenda? If there are small families, there will be no sons and daughters to “spare” for the seminaries and novitiates churning out priests and nuns. Is that the Cardinal’s real concern? I would see that as God’s design. The march of time will return to the laity what the hierarchy has usurped from them. Till then, let not the Cardinal decide on babies.
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