A nun belonging to the Catholic congregation of Missionaries of Jesus in Jalandhar filed a police complaint against bishop Franco Mulakkal on June 27 this year accusing the clergyman of sexually assaulting her over a period of two years starting in May 2014.

Accusing the bishop of sending lewd messages and obscene pictures over the phone, the nun said she had also informed Cardinal George Alancherry, the head of the Kochi-based Syro-Malabar Church about the alleged abuse. Alencherry has claimed that the nun had talked about the “torture” at the congregation, but did not mention sexual abuse. As the Church took no action, the nun approached the police.

After her allegations became public, others came forward saying the bishop, who hails from Kerala, had forced at least 18 inmates to quit the order. The family of the nun has maintained that despite a complaint to the Delhi Archbishop Anil Couto, nothing was done. An FIR was registered against the bishop on June 28 and a detailed 114-page statement was recorded of the nun and other inmates of the convent.

The nun made the complaint only after Mullackal went to the police claiming the alleged victim and five other nuns were harassing and blackmailing him. He denies the rape accusations and says the alleged victim has a vendetta against him.

The police questioned bishop Franco Mulakkal for nine hours on August 14 in connection with allegations of rape levelled against him and left without arresting him.

When asked why Mulakkal was not arrested, the team head, DSP K Subhash, said the senior priest had “cooperated” during questioning and that they would return to Bishop’s residence “if required”.

“We have been knocking on the doors of the church and the government. There is nobody to help us in our cause,’’ said Sister Anupama, one of the nuns who is participating in the protest.

The protest was called due to the fact that since the case was registered months back, the police had taken 12 statements from the victim but only one from the accused bishop.

The nun on September 11 wrote a letter to the Vatican representative in India seeking justice.

In a letter dated September 8, the nun alleged the bishop coveted nuns.

“Whichever sister Franco felt attracted to, he tried to put them in trap by force or taking advantage of their weakness,” the letter said. She also alleged that the bishop was using “political and money power” to bury the case and sought his removal.

The Kerala High Court asked the police to reveal the steps taken in the investigation so far. The court also sought to know what the government was doing to ensure the security of the victim and the nuns who were supporting her.

The case has exposed deep ruptures inside Kerala’s Roman Catholic church, whose adherents numbered close to 1 million according to the most recent census in 2011. The southern state has one of the largest Christian populations in India and one of the oldest in the world.

The Church is facing trial by fire due to sexual allegations against the clergy from all parts of the world. Pope Francis has called a synod of Bishops to discuss the issue.

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org/
 

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Friday, September 25, 1998

Precious Sisters,

The men that raped you tried to dishonour you, but somehow your tragedy has filled me with a deep sense of honour and respect for you. I honour your faith. We are told that all faiths are the same. But the faith of your rapists is clearly the antithesis of yours. Their faith has never allowed ordinary families in the history of our nation to send their daughters to live in remote villages and serve those who would abuse them.

You are indeed model followers of the Lord Jesus Christ who allowed his body to be violated for the salvation of his enemies. May your love for God inspire millions more to follow Christ at personal cost.

Through your medical service you have been seeking to heal the sick bodies. Why did then these "brave and powerful" men rape you? Indeed they ought to have been leading a procession to honour you. But they knew that their culture – the culture of Hindutva – would consider them great, not if they served you, but only if they attacked and raped you. Their act is irrefutable evidence that it is the soul of our nation that is sick. Our social history shows that our culture has always oppressed and exploited the weak – the "Dalits", including women.

Your lives, dear sisters, are glorious evidence that healing is possible for our nation through the blood of Jesus Christ. You are a proof that it has the power to transform us so radically that we would see humility and service as the route to honour. May I, therefore, urge you to be strong in your faith! Keep following the one who shed his blood to bless all the nations of the earth.

I honour you because you remind me of Abraham – your father in faith. Like yourselves, he too offered costly sacrifices to God, but God seemed absent. It was the vultures who pounced upon the flesh of his holy sacrifice, just as they did on your bodies that had been sacrificed to God. Abraham tried to chase the predators away, but proved to be too weak. He fell into a "deep and dreadful sleep". It was in the midst of that "dreadful darkness" that he finally saw the fire of God accept his sacrifice, and heard the voice of God promising to bless him and all the nations through his Descendants (Genesis 15). The vultures and the darkness are not the final realities. God is. He will use your sacrifice to bless our nation. ‘The soul of India is sick’, but you have strengthened my resolve to sacrifice my body for her healing.

Thank you.
Your brother,
Vishal Mangalwadi
Ivy Cottage, Landour
Mussoorie (U.P.), India 248 179
 

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Graphic: Times of India

Police had announced an award of Rs 10,000 for the arrest of Singaria, Superintendent of Police Mahesh Chand Jain news agencies reported.He said that Singaria was involved in committing armed robbery at the nun's house in Navapada in Kalyanpur police station area, apart from rape and attempt to murder.

The convict was re-arrested after locals in Runkheda complained to police about a person creating a ruckus in public. His subsequent questioning revealed he was absconding for the last 11 years after conviction in the nun's rape case, the police officer said.
 
 

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