Take action against ex-Jalandhar bishop under Canon laws: Nuns

A day after the second complaint against deposed bishop of Jalandhar Franco Mulakkal surfaced, Kerala nuns fighting for justice to the victim asked church authorities

A day after the second complaint against deposed bishop of Jalandhar Franco Mulakkal surfaced, Kerala nuns fighting for justice to the victim asked church authorities not to shield him and take action against him under the canon laws (a set of ordinances made by ecclesiastical authority for church and its members).

In a statement to the police, a 36-year-old nun had accused Mulakkal of sexual harassment. But the police did not file a separate case against Mulakkal after the nun insisted that she was not willing to pursue her charges, said Kollam superintendent of police Harishankar, who supervised the probe.

“We are happy that another nun has come out to narrate her plight. We want church authorities to take action against Mulakkal under relevant canon laws. It is time for the church to stand with the victim, not the perpetrator,” said sister Anupama, who led the month-long fast in Kochi seeking Mulakkal’s arrest in 2018.

The first complaint against Mulakkal surfaced in June 2018 when a 43-year-old nun, also a mother superior, complained to the Kottayam police that the bishop had raped her several times between 2014 and 2016. The nun is a member of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation based in Punjab. But Mulakkal denied the charges and claimed he was framed after he took action against her over “financial irregularities” in the convent. Mulakkal was arrested in September 2018 after a group of nuns hit the street.

Five nuns of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation, who came in support of the 43-year-old nun, and the victim are confined to a convent in Kottayam and leading a secluded life since they raised the complaint against Mulakkal. They were not allowed to participate in religious services and there were also attempts to transfer them to different locations to weaken the case. “We want the church to support us and end our isolation and agony,” said sister Anupama.

Sister Lucy Kalappura, another nun who was expelled from the congregation citing “serious indiscipline”, said more nuns will come out to depose against the unseated bishop if the police provide them protection. “It is good that nuns are coming out to narrate their sexual exploitations. They are not slaves. It is time for the church to check further decay and set things right,” she said. She claimed she was expelled from the congregation for supporting the stir against Franco Mulakkal two years ago.

DISCHARGE PLEA TAKEN UP

On Saturday, the additional district court in Kottayam heard Mulakkal’s petition to discharge him from the case. Since proceedings were in-camera, mediapersons were not allowed to cover it. Mulakkal was not present in the court either. His counsel B Raman Pillai questioned the selective leaking of the statement of one of the witnesses in the court. But the prosecution contended that repeated pleas of Mulakkal were aimed at delaying the trial.

This is the first time in the country a senior functionary of the church is facing rape charges. Mulakkal was booked under Sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 376 (2) (K) (being in a position of control or dominance over a woman, commits rape on such woman), 376 (C) (I) (sexual intercourse by a person in authority) and 377/506 (1) (carnal intercourse against the order of nature with the victim without consent and criminally intimidated the victim by extending threat court) of the Indian Penal Code. If convicted, he will get jail term not than 12 years.