Kottayam: A Catholic church diocese under the Syro-Malabar church in central Kerala announced a welfare scheme on Monday for families having five or more children, a move seen as encouraging the community to boost its numbers. The initiative, launched by the Family Apostolate under the Pala diocese of the church, has decided to offer monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,500 to the couples who got married after 2000 and have five or more children.
"It was announced as part of the 'Year of the Family' celebrations by the church. This initiative is to provide assistance to large families especially in the post-COVID-19 scenario. We will start receiving applications soon and most probably, we will be able to hand out assistance from August," Fr Joseph Kuttiankal, who heads the Family Apostolate under the church, told the media. The scheme was announced at an online meeting by Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt as part of the 'Year of the Family' celebrations of the church.
When asked whether this move was part of a pastoral letter issued by the Changanacherry Archdiocese in 2019 suggesting that the share of the Christian population in Kerala has dwindled over the years, Fr Kuttiankal said that issue was a "reality". "It's a reality that the population of the Christian community is going down. Our growth rate is less. That is also a reason but the immediate reason is to provide assistance to the large families which are finding it difficult to make both ends meet due to the pandemic," he said.