NEW DELHI, India, AUG. 27, 2001 (Zenit.org).- The Catholic Church has come out against an Indian state´s plan to curb population by limiting families to two children each.
Hindu nationalists proposed the two-child limit to the government of Gujarat state in western India.
The state has 50.5 million inhabitants, an increase of 10 million since 1991. Population in Indian soared 22% in the same period, to top the 1 billion mark.
Catholic Bishop Stanislaus Fernandes of Ahmedabad immediately denounced the proposal as a «violation of basic human rights.»
Bishop Gregory Karotemprel of Rajkot explained that what is really needed is to «define a common strategy» to respond to the government´s proposals.
Father Cedric Prakash emphasized that education «of women and of the least privileged sectors» of society is the way to keep population growth under control. He added that the Church only supports natural methods of family planning.
