An American citizen of Indian origin has accused Archbishop Soosa Pakiam M. of diverting a property that he had gifted to the diocese for the purpose of improving the living standards of the poor and transferring it to a welfare society for financial gains. At a press meet here on Wednesday, Joseph Lopez, currently residing in Virginia, said that though he had made repeated attempts to get in touch with the Latin archdiocese, there has been no response.
He said the archbishop had in gross violation of the terms of bequeath, transferred the property to the Obliges Welfare Society of the Sacred Heart Convent in Valiyakulam, near Kazhakuttam, and misappropriated the proceedings.
“This was organised fraud and cheating. Since the archbishop and the convent refused to return the property, I was compelled to file a suit before the Munsiff’s Court, Thiruvananthapuram,” he said.
Mr.Lopez said he had obtained an order of temporary prohibitory injunction restraining the convent from further encumbering the property. When contacted, the spokesperson for the diocese said the diocesan authorities would respond to the allegation later.
