The Catholic Association of Nagaland has distanced itself from churches on the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act, calling the policy unsustainable.
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DIMAPUR — The Catholic Association of Nagaland (CAN) has distanced itself from the churches’ stance on the NLTP Act, asserting that liquor policy is a matter for the state—not the pulpit.
In a press statement issued on Thursday, the CAN acknowledged rising concerns over liquor-related violence across the state but argued that the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) Act has failed to achieve its intended goals.
Instead, it stated, prohibition has driven alcohol consumption underground, fostering anti-social activities rather than curbing them.
“The subject of NLTP, being a legal and policy matter, belongs to the state government and not the churches,” the association stated, adding that the idea of a “dry state,” though well-intentioned, does not necessarily translate into a more spiritual society.
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Terming the existing policy “neither rational nor sustainable,” the CAN maintained that alcohol consumption is part of a broader global social reality and cannot be addressed through blanket prohibition alone.
The association urged churches to approach the issue from a broader theological perspective rather than what it described as “limited emotional views.”
It asserted that biblical teachings neither explicitly ban nor endorse alcohol, but instead caution against excess.