Indian Nun Still Awaiting Justice for Alleged Rape by Jesuit

What They Knew
October 6, 2012

http://vu2103.katla.orangewebsite.com/indian-nun-still-awaiting-justice-for-alleged-rape-by-jesuit/

Rathinam Rajarathinam SJ knows justice delayed is justice denied

Donald McGuire SJ knew in India nuns took care of Jesuits. Waiting for his orange juice to arrive.

[with video]

In a story from the 'now we have heard it all' file comes the sad and enraging story of Sister Mary Florence from Trichy, India. The nun's quest for justice began when she alleges that she was raped and impregnated by Jesuit priest Rathinam Rajarathnam SJ the President of St. Joseph's College from 2006-2008. She's been excommunicated and kicked out of her order, he is still listed as Director of St. Joseph's College and is still a Jesuit.

Francis Mary or Florence Mary, 28, once a nun, had joined the college in Tiruchy in 2006 for pursuing her MA. During this time, she met Rajarathinam, principal of St Joseph's College. One day in January 2006, when she went to meet him, Rajarathinam served her a cold drink laced with sedatives, she alleged in the complaint. She was raped, obscene pictures were taken on his cellphone camera, and she was threatened against telling anyone about it.

Fr. Rajarathinam took her to several places and abused her, she said, adding that this resulted in a pregnancy which was aborted at a private hospital in 2008. However, when the news about her pregnancy and abortion became public, the nun was excommunicated and removed from the order.

She also named a few other priests of threatening her on behalf of the accused priest.

To make this clear, a nun is raped, forced to have an abortion against her will by her accused Jesuit rapist, who photographed his attacks, and she is excommunicated?

Ladies, you think having your book banned by the Pope is bad? What about this? Time to get off that bus and get on an airplane for your fellow sisters being rapped by Jesuits.

Once the nun came forward with charges, the Jesuit priest was granted anticipatory bail by the Madras high court on November 3, 2010 after he allegedly went underground for over a month.

The other accused in the case were Fr Provincial Mudiappasamy Devadoss, Fr Joe Xavier SJ, Fr Xavier Vedam , the principal of Arulanandar College, Karumathur and Dr Suchitra attached to Kavery hospital, Trichy who had allegedly conducted the abortion on the nun who was allegedly raped by Fr Rajaranthinam.

Fr Devadoss, and Fr Joe Xavier were charged under section 506 (1) (Criminal intimidation), Fr Xavier Vedam under section 506(1) and also the Women's Harassment Act (section 4) and Dr Suchitra who preformed the abortion under sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) and 313 ( causing miscarriage without woman's consent ).

Sources in the Jesuit congregation say the nun and the priest had known each other for some time because they met often at a college for classical music and dance. The nun was attending music training and the priest is into classical music and has released a few music albums.

The sources also said the Jesuit provincial had set up a one-man inquiry committee to investigate the case the day the incident came to light. However, nothing concrete has emerged according to the Society of Jesus.

Moving forward to 2012, there is still no trial for Mary Florence.

Advocate Irudayasamy, who appeared for Florence Mary said that the victim had every right to engage a lawyer and said that the prosecution had also staked its claim to cross-examine the defence witnesses during the trial.

The petitioner's counsel also said the names of two lawyers were proposed so that when one was absent, the other would officially appear on behalf of the victim. The police had filed an 88-page charge-sheet before the judicial magistrate-I Illangovan on June 21 last year. The case was then transferred to the district principal sessions judge who on February 23 this year transferred the case to the mahila court asking all the parties to appear there on March 12.

On Jun 26, 2012 The mahila court on Monday stopped trial proceedings in the Sister Florence Mary sexual abuse case, till such time, when the state government appoints a special public prosecutor (SPP) to argue the complainant's case. Mary also submitted a petition to the district collector asking for the latter's discretion to recommend the appointment of a SPP to argue her case. Then the original prosecutor walked off her case.

Let's see how long the Jesuits can use their favorite legal tactic of dragging this on…

St. Joseph's College has some very interesting alumni, like the former President of India and some high court judges, HERE, not implying there is any corruption in India or in the Jesuits, but one would think this poor nun could get justice a little faster.

What is also of note is Jesuit General Adolfo Nicolas stopped by India a month before the last court event in February 2012. In the only documented instance we can find, Nicolas addressed the topic of bad Jesuits and child sexual abuse by his priests saying this:

There was a time when he thought that the Society of Jesus had many good people but few Jesuits. Being a Jesuit was something more than just being good. But the shocking events of paedophilia in the Church made Fr. General soon change his perspective. "How is it," he asked, "that good people did such things? Then I realized it is not enough to be good. God delights in the total transformation of the person into goodness. The message of the prophets is not just to be good; it is to be thoroughly good, to be transformed into goodness so that nothing bad will come out, because a thoroughly good person will never harm another. It is our Jesuit apostolic vocation that we are called to be so thoroughly good that only goodness comes out of a person as Jesus said – it is from the heart that comes what is good and what is not good… The main reason why Christians want to be good is because God is good. And we want to be partakers of this type of goodness… Behind the sexual abuse is the fact that, we are not bad people, but we are weak people. The accused do not realize how much harm they did to the child whose brain is just being formed to relationships. The invitation during this Lent is to renew, to recreate, to rediscover, and to see again what Christ wanted from us."

"Classifying the Jesuits into three segments, he said that in the Society of Jesus quite many are excellent Jesuits, not merely good but thoroughly good. In the second place, a large number of them are simply mediocre Jesuits: they are good but mediocre. Lastly, there are a handful of Jesuits but they are problem cases, more like a burden for the Society. In the forest when a few trees fall, those few make a lot of noise; and such Jesuits are like those few trees. "