01-03-2006, 12:27 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Tamil Nadu churches split over free meals
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www.asianage
By R. Bhagwan Singh
Chennai, Jan. 1: The Church in Tamil Nadu is divided over support for chief minister Jayalalithaaâs scheme for providing free lunches in churches, inaugurated in a sample of seven places of worship on Christmas Eve with a promise to extend to 100 churches across the state.
While the Protestants have welcomed the scheme as confirming to the Bible requiring the haves to take care of the have-nots, the Catholic Church has strongly objected to the government providing free meals since it would "most certainly hurt the sanctity, cleanliness and peace" inside churches.<b> "Chances of prayers becoming meaningless are bright because there will not be any difference between the true devotees and those visiting the church only to take food," </b>said the Tamil Nadu Bishops Council, representing the Catholic Church in the state after its senior clergy held a meeting in Chennai to discuss the issue on Saturday.
Dr Peter Fernando, Archbishop of Madurai, who is also the president of the Bishops Council, and the Archbishop of Chennai-Mylapore Diocese, Dr Chinnappa, in a joint statement said<b> there were "practical difficulties" in selecting churches and beneficiaries for the scheme under which the chief minister planned to provide free lunches to the poor Christians. Those churches left out of the scheme would feel slighted, particularly in the rural areas, which could well divide the church, the bishops feared</b>.
They also apprehended that the scheme could ultimately lead to government interference in church affairs. Besides, said the Catholic bishops, Christianity "never believed in providing free food round the year."Â <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> Even now, mass feeding was very much in vogue in the churches on special occasions. Besides, the poor should be fed from the offerings of the laity and not from government funds, they argued.
The Catholic bishops pointed out that the Catholic community was undertaking many social causes<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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www.asianage
By R. Bhagwan Singh
Chennai, Jan. 1: The Church in Tamil Nadu is divided over support for chief minister Jayalalithaaâs scheme for providing free lunches in churches, inaugurated in a sample of seven places of worship on Christmas Eve with a promise to extend to 100 churches across the state.
While the Protestants have welcomed the scheme as confirming to the Bible requiring the haves to take care of the have-nots, the Catholic Church has strongly objected to the government providing free meals since it would "most certainly hurt the sanctity, cleanliness and peace" inside churches.<b> "Chances of prayers becoming meaningless are bright because there will not be any difference between the true devotees and those visiting the church only to take food," </b>said the Tamil Nadu Bishops Council, representing the Catholic Church in the state after its senior clergy held a meeting in Chennai to discuss the issue on Saturday.
Dr Peter Fernando, Archbishop of Madurai, who is also the president of the Bishops Council, and the Archbishop of Chennai-Mylapore Diocese, Dr Chinnappa, in a joint statement said<b> there were "practical difficulties" in selecting churches and beneficiaries for the scheme under which the chief minister planned to provide free lunches to the poor Christians. Those churches left out of the scheme would feel slighted, particularly in the rural areas, which could well divide the church, the bishops feared</b>.
They also apprehended that the scheme could ultimately lead to government interference in church affairs. Besides, said the Catholic bishops, Christianity "never believed in providing free food round the year."Â <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> Even now, mass feeding was very much in vogue in the churches on special occasions. Besides, the poor should be fed from the offerings of the laity and not from government funds, they argued.The Catholic bishops pointed out that the Catholic community was undertaking many social causes<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->