Thiruvananthapuram: At a time when the Congress-led United Democratic Front in Kerala is pushing for total prohibition in the state, the Catholic Church has sought permission for more wine brewing, raising eyebrows in the state.
The basic argument of the Church is that it needs more wine for Church services since its members have increased, but it has been convincing for most, given the fact that the Christian population in Kerala has been mostly stagnant or dwindling over the past two decades.
The Ernakulam-Angamaly diocese of the Syro-Malabar church has applied to the state excise department to increase its permitted annual volume of wine production from 1,600 litres to 5,000 litres. The church presently holds 23 brewery licences that allows it to produce 1,600 litres of wine.
The issue has hit the headlines since it comes at a time when the government has ordered all bars shut, except those in five star hotels. The law courts have approved the move.
Wine usage in Church is mostly for Holy Mass, when the priest dips the sacramental bread into a chalice of wine before offering it to the believers. The question being asked is whether the number of faithful have increased so much to demand so much extra wine.
However, church spokesman Paul Thelekkattil says the number of churches and the Christian population have gone up, necessitating the need for additional capacity to brew wine.
Census data, however, shows the Christian population in Kerala to be dwindling. In 2001 Christians constituted about 21 per cent of the state’s population, but the decadal census in 2011 showed the Christian population had dipped to 19.5 per cent. There are even fears it may have reached as low as 16 per cent presently.
Demographers say high education standards were the first trigger for the drop in Christian population in Kerala. This was followed by large-scale migration of Kerala Christians abroad, further bringing down their number in the state.
