Latin Archdiocese keen on frugal living

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Spend less, give more, the Latin Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram is advising the faithful.Celebrating its platinum jubilee this year, the Archdiocese is pushing the cause of thrift and frugal living, urging devotees to cut down over-spending on events such as festivals and marriages.A circular is to be issued soon regarding controlled spending, church officials said. "Cutting down expenditure on church fetes, for instance, means that the money can be spent on charity,’’ vicar-general Monsignor Eugene Pereira said."We have not fixed any ceiling for marriage expenses, but the Church is advocating spending less on such events. Four-five years ago, we had stopped the practice of conducting extravagant engagements ahead of the wedding,’’ he said.Restricting the number of bishops invited to grace fetes is another idea the Church is toying with to put a brake on pompous festivities."For big churches such as the Madre de Deus Church, Vettucaud, the number of Bishops who can be invited will be restricted to two in number,’’ the vicar- general said.Social organisations in the state including the Church, SNDP Yogam and NSS had launched austerity drives alarmed by extravagant spending and the fact that welfare activities were taking a backseat. Less money spent on festivities and other extravagances, translates into more money for charity, calculates the Church.Building homes for the poor and contributing to the wedding fund of a poor girl in connection with festivals are two activities the Church is trying to promote. Festival sponsors, who now shell out money for decorations, lighting etc, will be encouraged to spend the money on charity as part of the initiative.As part of the year-long platinum jubilee celebrations, the Church has constituted a Synod which will meet in May to chalk out an 25-year master plan for the Archdiocese. Created in 1937 through the Papal Bull ‘In Ora Malabarica,’ the Thiruvananthapuram Archdiocese currently has close to 2.50 lakh members.With large influence in the coastal belts, the Archdiocese has also launched a socio-economic survey to assess the current living conditions of members of the church.