High Literacy In Kerala Is Because Of Catholic Church, Says Eminent Historian

AHMEDABAD, Gujarat, Aug. 20, 2009, 15.10 Hrs (SAR News):

There are historical records of Christians in Kerala from the 8th century onwards. The high per cent of literacy in Kerala is due to the Catholic Church which started universal education from the 18th century, said Dr. M.G.S. Narayanan, a renowned historian, author and former chairman of the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR).

Narayanan was delivering the keynote address at the 26th Annual Day celebrations of Malayalee Catholic Fellowship (MACAF) together with the Independence Day and the feast of Assumption.

The celebration of the triple events was held at St. Xavier’s Loyola School here August 15.

Narayanan recalled that the Catholic Church was the first to recognise the dangers of communism and started the liberation struggle which led to the dismissal of the first democratically elected communist government in Kerala.

The historian acknowledged that the Church had contributed to the awakening of the backward communities in Kerala through universal educational programmes, social works and welfare activities.

He appreciated the fact that the Christianity was the only religion that introspected, acknowledged its mistakes and failures, apologised and corrected them.

At a public meeting following the Holy Mass, the first lady president of MACAF, Grace Joseph, said the Fellowship’s silver jubilee had paved the way for greater participation of women in community-building, abreast with the change and attitude of the world at large and the Catholic Church in particular. She called on the members to concentrate on social spheres and women empowerment for creative and productive works in social sector.

MACAF secretary general, Gigi Philips, highlighted the salient points of his annual report. The many services and activities of MACAF showed that it was involved in spiritual, social, educational, welfare, cooperative, economic and voluntary fields and doing a lot of services not only for its members but also for the society at large.

Earlier, celebrations of the triple events began with a High Mass led by the Auxiliary Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Delhi, Archbishop Stanislaus Fernandes of Gandhinagar, Gujarat, and a dozen Malayalee priests working in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar dioceses.

In his homily, Bishop Franco stressed the importance of fully integrating oneself with the local language and culture while maintaining Christian religious values and Christian traditions.

He warned the Malayalee Christians to be aware of the anti-Christian, anti-minority and anti-Dalit forces at work attacking religious freedom in states like Orissa, Karnataka and elsewhere.

At public function, Bishop Thomas Macwan of Ahmedabad Diocese congratulated MACAF on electing a woman as its president. He appreciated the fact that women form 50 per cent of the Church and many of them were supporting and serving the Church in many ways.

“We Catholics in Gujarat need to be united among ourselves as well as with other ecumenical groups. Jesus Christ has called us for unity; and united we will face many challenges which are thrown at us. Even today, after a year of anti-Christian attacks in Orissa, 2,000 Christians are still staying in tents, as they are unable to return to their villages. This situation and anti-Christian attacks can happen anywhere in India. Christ has told us that as his followers we will have suffering. We are often moving against the tide. So we may have to face persecutions. But, in spite of persecutions we pray for our enemies,” Bishop Macwan said.

Appreciating MACAF’s motto ‘Christ our Leader’, Archbishop Stanislaus Fernandes said that “we accept Christ as our leader and he is our uniting factor”.

He appreciated the services of MACAF not only to the Gandhinagar Diocese but also to other places like Kandhamal in Orissa. “We should not remain confined to our parishes or organisations but we need to be open and play a national role through contributing our share to the building of the nation and enjoy true freedom,” he said.

Bishop Mulakkal stressed the need of serving the needy people. He called on the MACAFians to march ahead. “God is with you; God loves you. And we are all with you.”

The celebrations included two-hour-long cultural and variety entertainment programmes from nine parishes and distribution of scholarships and awards to outstanding MACAFians in various fields like studies, sports and cultural performance.