INDIA
UCANews
May 20, 2019
By Cynthia Stephen
Rape charges against Jalandhar bishop force Indian Church to face its own demons, vindicate long-silenced nuns and lay women
Early in April, when police in India filed rape charges against Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar, he became the first bishop in history to face court proceedings for raping a Catholic nun.
The charges were filed nine months after the nun complained to police of prolonged sexual abuse from the bishop, who also served as the patron of the diocesan women’s congregation the nun had led for several years.
The nun and her supporters faced severe repression in the convent for going against the bishop. But the nun’s public protest in Kochi, in southern India, last September forced the government, which had dragged its feet for weeks, to act. The bishop was arrested. A special team was constituted to probe the case. And finally, on April 9, a charge-sheet was filed in Pala, Kerala.
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