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Photos: Long history of priests preying on nuns unearthed in Kerala

The Vatican has long been aware of nuns sexually abused by priests and bishops in Asia, Europe, South America and Africa, but it has done very little to stop it, The Associated Press reported last year. Now, the AP has investigated the situation in India and uncovered a decades-long history of nuns enduring sexual abuse from within the church. Nuns detailed the sexual pressure they endured from priests; nearly two dozen nuns, former nuns and priests, and others said they had direct knowledge of such incidents.

Updated on: Jan 03, 2019 11:10 AM IST

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The Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral is reflected in a puddle after a brief spell of rain in Kottayam, Kerala. The nuns talk of Catholic priests who pushed into their bedrooms and who pressured them to turn close friendships into sex. Across India, they talk about being groped and kissed, of hands pressed against them by men they were raised to believe were representatives of Jesus Christ. (Manish Swarup / AP)

Updated on Jan 03, 2019 11:10 AM

The Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral is reflected in a puddle after a brief spell of rain in Kottayam, Kerala. The nuns talk of Catholic priests who pushed into their bedrooms and who pressured them to turn close friendships into sex. Across India, they talk about being groped and kissed, of hands pressed against them by men they were raised to believe were representatives of Jesus Christ. (Manish Swarup / AP)

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At its most grim, nuns speak of repeated rapes, and of a Catholic hierarchy that did little to protect them. Still, the problem is cloaked by a powerful culture of silence. Many believe abuse is commonplace, insisting most sisters can at least tell of fending off a priest’s sexual advances. Some believe it is rare. Almost none talk about it readily, and most only anonymously. (Manish Swarup / AP)

Updated on Jan 03, 2019 11:10 AM

At its most grim, nuns speak of repeated rapes, and of a Catholic hierarchy that did little to protect them. Still, the problem is cloaked by a powerful culture of silence. Many believe abuse is commonplace, insisting most sisters can at least tell of fending off a priest’s sexual advances. Some believe it is rare. Almost none talk about it readily, and most only anonymously. (Manish Swarup / AP)

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A nun partakes in the sacrament of confession. This summer, one nun forced the issue into the open. When repeated complaints to church officials brought no response, a 44-year-old nun filed a police complaint against the bishop who oversees her order, accusing him of raping her 13 times over two years. A group of nuns launched a public protest to demand the bishop’s arrest. (Manish Swarup / AP)

Updated on Jan 03, 2019 11:10 AM

A nun partakes in the sacrament of confession. This summer, one nun forced the issue into the open. When repeated complaints to church officials brought no response, a 44-year-old nun filed a police complaint against the bishop who oversees her order, accusing him of raping her 13 times over two years. A group of nuns launched a public protest to demand the bishop’s arrest. (Manish Swarup / AP)

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Sister Josephine Villoonnickal (L), Sister Alphy Pallasseril (C), and Sister Anupama Kelamangalathu talk at St. Francis Mission Home, in Kuravilangad. The protest divided India’s Catholic community. The accuser and the nuns who support her are now pariahs. “Some people are accusing us of working against the church,” said one supporter, Sister Josephine Villoonnickal. “They say, ‘You are worshipping Satan.’ But we need to stand up for the truth.” (Manish Swarup / AP)

Updated on Jan 03, 2019 11:10 AM

Sister Josephine Villoonnickal (L), Sister Alphy Pallasseril (C), and Sister Anupama Kelamangalathu talk at St. Francis Mission Home, in Kuravilangad. The protest divided India’s Catholic community. The accuser and the nuns who support her are now pariahs. “Some people are accusing us of working against the church,” said one supporter, Sister Josephine Villoonnickal. “They say, ‘You are worshipping Satan.’ But we need to stand up for the truth.” (Manish Swarup / AP)

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Some nuns’ accounts date back decades. Like the sister, barely out of her teens, teaching in a Catholic school in the early 1990s. It was exhausting work, and she was looking forward to time at a New Delhi retreat centre. One night, a priest in his 60s who was supposed to be leading the nuns in reflection went to a neighbourhood party. He came back late and knocked at her room. She could smell the alcohol. (Manish Swarup / AP)

Updated on Jan 03, 2019 11:10 AM

Some nuns’ accounts date back decades. Like the sister, barely out of her teens, teaching in a Catholic school in the early 1990s. It was exhausting work, and she was looking forward to time at a New Delhi retreat centre. One night, a priest in his 60s who was supposed to be leading the nuns in reflection went to a neighbourhood party. He came back late and knocked at her room. She could smell the alcohol. (Manish Swarup / AP)

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A forceful woman, her voice grows quiet recalling the incident. The priest forced his way in, tried to kiss her and grabbed at her body. Weeping, she pushed him back enough to slam the door. She quietly told her mother superior, who let her avoid him again. She also wrote anonymously to church officials. The priest was reassigned. There were no public reprimands, no warnings to other nuns. (Manish Swarup / AP)

Updated on Jan 03, 2019 11:10 AM

A forceful woman, her voice grows quiet recalling the incident. The priest forced his way in, tried to kiss her and grabbed at her body. Weeping, she pushed him back enough to slam the door. She quietly told her mother superior, who let her avoid him again. She also wrote anonymously to church officials. The priest was reassigned. There were no public reprimands, no warnings to other nuns. (Manish Swarup / AP)

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Caught at an intersection of sexual taboo, Catholic hierarchy and loneliness, sisters can be left at the mercy of predatory priests. “Once you grow up, once you get your first menstruation, you are not encouraged to speak normally to a boy,” said a nun from Kerala, a cheerful woman with sparkly glass earrings. That naivety, she said, can be costly. (Manish Swarup / AP)

Updated on Jan 03, 2019 11:10 AM

Caught at an intersection of sexual taboo, Catholic hierarchy and loneliness, sisters can be left at the mercy of predatory priests. “Once you grow up, once you get your first menstruation, you are not encouraged to speak normally to a boy,” said a nun from Kerala, a cheerful woman with sparkly glass earrings. That naivety, she said, can be costly. (Manish Swarup / AP)

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Like the time she was a novice nun, still in her teens, and an older priest came to the centre where she worked. When she brought the priest his laundry, he grabbed and began to kiss her. “The kissing was all coming here,” she said, gesturing at her chest. “He was from Goa. I am from Kerala. In my mind I was trying to figure out: ‘Is this the way that Goans kiss?’” (Manish Swarup / AP)

Updated on Jan 03, 2019 11:10 AM

Like the time she was a novice nun, still in her teens, and an older priest came to the centre where she worked. When she brought the priest his laundry, he grabbed and began to kiss her. “The kissing was all coming here,” she said, gesturing at her chest. “He was from Goa. I am from Kerala. In my mind I was trying to figure out: ‘Is this the way that Goans kiss?’” (Manish Swarup / AP)

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A maniple of a Catholic priest on the chair of a confession box in a village church. Eventually, the nun slipped out. She quietly told a senior to not send others to the priest’s room but made no official complaint. In the church, even some who doubt there is widespread abuse say the silence can be enveloping. Archbishop Kuriakose Bharanikulangara calls abuse “kind of sporadic. Once here, once there.” (Manish Swarup / AP)

Updated on Jan 03, 2019 11:10 AM

A maniple of a Catholic priest on the chair of a confession box in a village church. Eventually, the nun slipped out. She quietly told a senior to not send others to the priest’s room but made no official complaint. In the church, even some who doubt there is widespread abuse say the silence can be enveloping. Archbishop Kuriakose Bharanikulangara calls abuse “kind of sporadic. Once here, once there.” (Manish Swarup / AP)

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The rapes, the nun says, happened in a small convent in rural Kerala, where the sisters at the St. Francis Mission Home spend their days in prayer or caring for the aged. The rapist, she says, was the most powerful man in this world: Bishop Franco Mulakkal. Mulakkal was the official patron of her community, the Missionaries of Jesus, wielding immense influence over its budgets and job assignments. (Manish Swarup / AP)

Updated on Jan 03, 2019 11:10 AM

The rapes, the nun says, happened in a small convent in rural Kerala, where the sisters at the St. Francis Mission Home spend their days in prayer or caring for the aged. The rapist, she says, was the most powerful man in this world: Bishop Franco Mulakkal. Mulakkal was the official patron of her community, the Missionaries of Jesus, wielding immense influence over its budgets and job assignments. (Manish Swarup / AP)

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A devotee prays at St. Mary's Church in Kottayam. Many in Kerala see Mulakkal as a martyr, and a string of supporters visited him in jail. Mulakkal angrily denies the accusations, accusing the sister of trying to blackmail him to get a better job. “I am going through painful agony,” said Mulakkal, who was jailed for three weeks and released on bail in October. (Manish Swarup / AP)

Updated on Jan 03, 2019 11:10 AM

A devotee prays at St. Mary's Church in Kottayam. Many in Kerala see Mulakkal as a martyr, and a string of supporters visited him in jail. Mulakkal angrily denies the accusations, accusing the sister of trying to blackmail him to get a better job. “I am going through painful agony,” said Mulakkal, who was jailed for three weeks and released on bail in October. (Manish Swarup / AP)

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The sisters who now cluster around the nun who levelled the accusations see things very differently. Catholic authorities have said little about the case, with India’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference saying in a statement that it has no jurisdiction over individual bishops, and the investigation and court case must run their course. “Silence,” the conference said, “should in no way be construed as siding with either of the two parties.” (Manish Swarup / AP)

Updated on Jan 03, 2019 11:10 AM

The sisters who now cluster around the nun who levelled the accusations see things very differently. Catholic authorities have said little about the case, with India’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference saying in a statement that it has no jurisdiction over individual bishops, and the investigation and court case must run their course. “Silence,” the conference said, “should in no way be construed as siding with either of the two parties.” (Manish Swarup / AP)

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