The ongoing agitation by five nuns under the auspices of some ‘vested interests and a section of the media’ is unacceptable. The stir is held with a view to tarnishing the Catholic Church, Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) spokesperson Fr. Varghese Vallikkatt has said.
In a statement issued here, Fr. Vallikkatt said the Church wanted the police to speed up the fair and ‘just’ investigation in the case of alleged rape of a nun by Jalandhar bishop Franco Mulakkal.
The Church shared the pain of both the complainant and the bishop in question, as both remained its members.
KCBC president Archbishop Soosa Pakiam M. had earlier welcomed the launching of an FIR against the accused in the case and made it clear that the Church would not stand in the way of delivery of justice in the case.
The Church had not gone back on its word on action against the bishop if he was found guilty. The onus was on the police to carry out a free and fair investigation and the action under the law against the guilty regardless of his identity. It was illegal and immoral on the part of the media to conduct a parallel trial in the case in a way that it prevented delivery of justice, the KCBC said.
The KCBC also accused the protesters of using the case to launch an onslaught against the Church and its bishops.
