Five nuns participated in a fast organised by the Joint Christian Council here on Saturday demanding the arrest of Franco Mulakkal, the head of the Jalandhar diocese of the Catholic Church, in connection with the alleged rape of a nun.
They held placards urging the government and the police not to delay the arrest of the bishop. In her complaint filed before the Kuravilangad police station in Kottayam on June 27, the nun had alleged that she had been raped and sexually exploited 14 times by the bishop since May 2014. The nun belonged to the Missionaries of Jesus, a congregation under the Jalandhar diocese.
Sister C. Anupama from the Missionaries of Jesus in Kottayam, who inaugurated the protest held near the office of the Inspector General of Police, Kochi Range, said the survivor was expecting justice from both the government and Church authorities. She wondered why the investigating team was delaying the arrest despite getting crucial evidence against the bishop.
Representatives of the Joint Christian Council blamed the Catholic Church authorities in the State for not acting against the bishop. The government and the church leaders should not hesitate in ensuring justice to the survivor, they said.
The bishop had denied the allegations claiming that he was innocent and the truth would come out in the police investigation. According to the police, the sister had complained that she was sexually exploited at the Church guest house facility at Kuravilangad. The bishop had earlier alleged that he was blackmailed by relatives of the nun after he had initiated disciplinary action against her while she was working in Jalandhar.
The investigation team had earlier told the Kerala High Court that the probe so far revealed that Bishop Mulakkal had raped the nun on several occasions at the guest room of the St. Francis Mission Home at Kuruvilangad.
