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The
Catholic Church in West Bengal has realized that the only way to crack
down on social evils like child marriages is by brandishing the stick.
The Krishnanagar Diocese, about 130 kilometers away from Kolkata, is
the first one to have cracked the whip by penalising families who got
their children married off. The punishment ranges from a fine of Rs
3,000 to excommunication. Bishop
Joseph Gomes said the diocese has decided that every body has to
follow the law and anyone found flouting it would be suitably
punished. “We will not baptize children of guilty families and
prevent them from attending church functions. Girls have to be 18 and
men 21 and everyone has to follow that," he said. Gomes said
priests in the diocese have imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 each on 12
families who flouted the law. "While they could even face
excommunication, for now, they have been banned from baptism and the
Eucharist for three years. The disciplinary action is part of our
programme to ensure that the state's one million Christians follow
laws,” the Bishop said. Herod
Mullik of the Bangiya Christiya Pariseba, a forum of Christians in
Bengal, said traditional customs like child marriages were prevalent
particularly in the tribal belt “where people continue to retain
their ethnicity When people flout existing laws, it is for the Church
to take punitive action to keep its community law abiding,” he said. The
Bishop of Kolkata, ES.P Raju, told the Hindustan Times that
excommunication was a fitting punishment for those who break the law.
Bishop Gomes, however, pointed out that those who admit their mistake
can always be find their way back to the church.
(Source:
Hindustan Times, February 15, 2007) |
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