Some think rather highly of themselves.

I found him on the Mumbai - Bangalore flight,
the original Mr. Smartypants.

A little too late.

Well, all of us have heard this.
Of the cops turning up a little late,
at the scene of the crime.

A couple of thousand years, I guess,
takes the cake.
(Pic: The Hindu)

Church vs. State

Whose dictate is an Indian Catholic to follow?
Church or State?
No, not in Renaissance England.
But right here in Kerala.

The State spends millions on population control.
An effort that has seen excesses.
But an effort that’s needed.

So how are we to take what follows?
(For this, is an official stand.)

I read this recently. (In Open, Sept. ’09 issue.)
In Church-run hospitals, tubectomy reversal is now subsidized!
Rs. 40, 000 for ordinary mortals.
Rs. 10,000 for Catholic women!
Why? So that we can go forth and multiply.

[Let me clarify here.
This is not because the Vatican opposes contraception.
Because if that was the case, then they shouldn’t be promoting tubectomy in Church-run hospitals, right?]

Here then, is the stated purpose.
‘To add to Kerala’s Catholic population that is diminished by migration.’

Isn’t this directly opposed to the government’s (ham-handed, though) efforts?
How can the Church defy the government?
How can the government allow such defiance?

And in a state that called a hartal when Saddam Hussien was hanged, why has no one even raised this issue?
Where is the traditional Church-fighting Marxist?
(Opiate for the masses has just become sex for the masse!)

The Church, cannot be a law unto itself.
And any such aspiration, should be nipped.

This stand prompts several questions.
1. Who is the Catholic to obey? Church or State?
2. If a woman of any other faith were to come for the same procedure, what would she be charged?
10k? Or 40k?
If the answer is 40k, does this mean that the Church’s Catholic Multiplication Programme resists the same in other faiths?
3. If every faith were to embark on a similar programme, what would be the fate of the nation?

Now let’s look at another perspective.
Who does this effort serve?
The State? Definitely not.
The laity? Definitely not for they will just be burdened by the demands of larger families.

But hey, the Church adds to its numbers!
And soon will have more to fleece at baptisms, communions, confirmations, weddings, assorted blessings, funerals etc.

The only purpose to me, seems to be to add to the coffers.
Of the Church, that is.
And to increase its clout in vote-bank politics.
(Don’t tell me that that clout buys protection. Get a life!)

The Church had a similar problem, in 16th century Europe, the Reformation.
Diminishing numbers, due to migration to Protestant churches.
The strategy the Church used to counter it then, was to concentrate on healthcare and education.
(The Jesuits, for example.)
Which as we know, paid considerable dividends.

Today, it subsidizes tubectomy reversal.
Are we to understand then, that the Church has intellectually regressed in the past 4 centuries?

I can understand the odd priest exhorting me from the pulpit.
Exhorting me to procreate and fulfill my Christian duty.
I can ignore that as a rant.

But this is unforgivable.
This, is the Catholic Church deciding that it is a law unto itself.