According to Fr Kottayil, another area of intervention would be infertility among young couples. “Addressing infertility will be a tightrope walk. The issue has to be tackled from a Christian point of view. Medical interventions such as semen donation cannot be allowed as these would infringe upon moral teachings of the church. But we will try all possible means,” he said.

The Thalassery Archdiocese in north Kerala recently held a gathering of parents who had a fourth child. Fr Benny Puthennada, Director of Family Apostolate in the diocese, said around 600 families attended the gathering. “We have adopted the fourth child from economically backward families to give financial assistance for education,” he said.