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	Church Officials Probe Indian Bishop's Adoption of 26-year-old Woman NZ Catholic October 20, 2008 http://www.nzcatholic.org.nz/viewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=1615 TRIVANDRUM, India (CNS) - Catholic officials are investigating the controversial adoption of a 26-year-old woman as the daughter of a Catholic bishop in southern India. Bishop John Thattumkal of Cochin, a 58-year-old canon law expert, registered the adoption with a government office on September 9, giving the woman the right to inherit his personal assets, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News. Controversy erupted when some priests in the Cochin Diocese opposed the adoption. Father Antony Thambi, the Cochin Diocese's public relations officer, told UCA News that after the adoption the woman stayed at the guesthouse in the Cochin bishop's compound for some time. Bishop Thattumkal was not available for comment when contacted by UCA News. Diocesan officials told UCA News the bishop decided not to speak to the press after the local newspaper Mathrubhumi carried the story Oct. 13. The newspaper said the woman was the daughter of Orthodox Father P.K. Joseph. His family met the bishop during a group pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The newspaper quoted Bishop Thattumkal as saying he was impressed by the woman's spirituality and prayer life and that he only had fatherly affections for her. Father Joseph told UCA News by telephone Oct. 14 that his daughter sees visions while praying. After one such vision, she told Bishop Thattumkal about a multibillion-rupee corruption scandal involving some clergy in his diocese. This helped the bishop unearth the financial irregularity, and he transferred some priests from key posts Sept. 28, Father Joseph said. Priests upset by the transfers issued a press statement condemning the adoption. Later, seven senior priests representing clergy in the diocese met Archbishop Daniel Acharuparambil of Verapoly and complained to him, said several Cochin diocesan priests in an interview with UCA News. The priests spoke on condition of anonymity. The Verapoly Archdiocese is a metropolitan see which includes the Cochin Diocese among its suffragan sees; that gives Archbishop Acharuparambil the authority to see that church discipline is observed in Cochin. Sources confirmed that the archbishop sought an explanation from Bishop Thattumkal about the adoption. Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana, apostolic nuncio to India, also summoned Bishop Thattumkal to his office in New Delhi Oct. 11 and sought an explanation. On Oct. 13, Archbishop Acharuparambil visited the Cochin Diocese and held discussions with Bishop Thattumkal and some priests. "The issue before us is of a bishop adopting a young woman for so-called spiritual nourishment. The future course of the issue would depend on his explanation," a senior Cochin diocesan priest told UCA News. Father Stephen Alathara, secretary of the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council, told media the church has initiated an investigation. "Action, if any, would be taken by the Vatican based on the nuncio's report," he said. A. Jayasakar, a civil law expert and lawyer practicing at the Kerala High Court, told UCA News that Bishop Thattumkal's adoption deed is not legally tenable because Indian law allows adoption only of children, not of adults. He explained that any contract can be registered under the Indian legal system and remain valid unless successfully challenged in a court of law. When challenged by either of the parties or by an affected third party, the court decides the legal validity in accordance with existing laws.
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