Church leaders in Kerala today declared war on liquor consumption, maintaining that alcohol abuse is the root-cause behind many broken families in the southern Indian state.

The Church is planning to list drinking as a cardinal sin that should be confessed, said Father Antony T James, secretary of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council’s (KCBC) temperance commission.

The commission is drafting a proposal in this regard for the council which should be finalized by June, he said.

People in Kerala are said to be the biggest drinkers in India, drinking three times the national average.

A recent study by the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre revealed that alcohol dependency is even spreading among children aged 10-15.

“Alcoholism is a social menace which is destabilizing families and claiming thousands of lives every year,” Fr James said.

We have been demanding a complete ban on liquor sales in the state. But the government is not willing to impose a ban because liquor sales contribute more than 50 per cent of its tax revenue, he said, adding that this revenue is in fact “death money.”

A KCBC spokesman said the bishops would make a decision on the recommendation in August.

However, some believe the temperance commission’s proposal is absurd and impractical.

Fr Paul Thelakat, spokesman of the Syro-Malabar Church, said making drinking into a sin will likely not have the desired results.

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