The temperance commission of the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council also wants a ban on church institutions employing people who drink, and a ban on drinking alcohol at weddings.

The commission's secretary, Father P. J. Antony, said the extreme stand was taken in view of "the crisis the Kerala society is going through due to excessive drinking".

He said the proposals were based on the teachings of the Bible and were also in accord with scientific studies that showed alcohol caused various physical and mental illnesses.

But the president of the commission, Charlie Paul, said making drinking a sin might need more theological backing. "Some bishops have reservations on this and want it to be referred to theological experts," he said.

Christianity is believed to have reached Kerala with the arrival of St Thomas in the year 52. The state's 6 million Catholics — in Latin, Syro Malabar and Syro Malankara rites — make up about 20 per cent of the population.

The temperance commission, whose vision is a drug-free Church and society in Kerala, was founded in 1998 and operates in all 29 Catholics dioceses in the state.

It also wants the state government — which earns more than 40 per cent of its revenue from alcohol — to get out of the liquor trade.

Kerala has India's highest rate of consumption of alcohol. The accident rate from road crashes is more than twice the national average, and alcoholism is seen as an underlying cause of increasing suicides and divorces.

"Alcoholism is a serious problem in Kerala, and we have to take tough measures to counter it," the commission's chairman, Bishop Sebastian Thekethecheril, said earlier this year.

Sources:

The Asian Age

Christian Today India

Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council

Image: Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council

Then he could have quaffed and chundered for New Zealand, strolled around with a disobedient teddy bear and generally had a good time without anyone caring too much.

But Guildford, despite his prettiness, is not from the Arcadian world of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. He cannot ask: "Ought we to be drunk every night?" and receive the rather languid reply: "Yes, I think so." Guildford is an All Black, a professional athlete. Guildford is a role model. It's a holy trinity that comes with a very confusing creed for a young man.

It's a creed that glorifies drinking and then says: "Thou shalt not". Up and down the country rugby clubs challenge each other to drinking games. Prizes are frequently spent behind the bar. You're a wimp if you can't down your pint in one. But we turn to our young All Blacks and say: "Thou shalt not".

As a culture we celebrate drinking and I, one among many, will be glugging my way round Toast Martinborough this Sunday in search of the serene plateau. Prime Minister John Key told the nation recently that he had downed a yard glass and spewed afterwards. There's not much of a mixed message there unless you are a young All Black like Zac Guildford. Then it's OK for the PM to get trolleyed as a young man, rite of passage and all that, but "thou shalt not".

Our culture celebrates drinking in a myriad of ways. Steinlager has been the official sponsor of the All Blacks for 25 years and Heineken sponsor of both the Rugby World Cup and Europe's biggest club competition. The Rugby World Cup was also backed by the Brancott Estate winery. Yep, booze and rugby are good mixers.

Sport has garlanded its drinkers over the years. Ian Botham is still revered for his capacity to down a vat of alcohol and then charge in from the Pavilion End like an indefatigable rhino. Sir Colin Meads still has remarkable fitness levels when it comes to beer consumption. Read more

• Source: Mark Reason in The Dominion Post
• Image: Orkutearth