INDIA
The Hindu
K.P.M. BASHEER MARCH 02, 2017
While the Catholic faithful in Kerala have been rattled by the arrest of a priest for raping and impregnating a minor girl, Church rebels and those in the know of things allege that the Kottiyoor incident is but just the tip of the iceberg.
Four former Church officials — three men and a woman, of whom two wished to remain anonymous — The Hindu spoke to claimed that Kottiyoor was only a sneak peek into the sexual abuse going on within the Church establishment. They also accused Church authorities of using their clout to keep mouths shut.
“If, in spite of all the clout, wealth and secrecy of the Church, the Kottiyoor incident came out into the open, you can imagine the extent of sexual abuse going on,” Sister Jesme, former Principal of St. Mary’s College, Thrissur, who left the Congregation of Mother Carmelite after serving it for 33 years, told The Hindu . Sister Jesme has, in her book Amen: The Autobiography of a Nun, revealed the murky goings-on within the Church establishment, the sexual abuse of nuns by priests and the wayward nature of bishops.
Nun abused
“I know of an incident in Kozhikode early last year,” Sister Jesme said, “a Catholic nun was impregnated by a priest. After the childbirth, the baby was separated from her and she was packed off to an unknown place. The man still continues to be a priest.”
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