In recent developments in the rape case involving catholic Bishop Franco Mulakkal, the Vatican has dismissed the plea filed by Sister Lucy Kalappura against her expulsion from her congregation. Sister Lucy Kalappura, a nun from Kerala had taken part in a protest seeking arrest of Bishop Franco Mulakkal, but was pulled up by the church authorities and later expelled for “failing to give a satisfactory explanation for her lifestyle in violation of FCC (Franciscan Clarist Congregation) laws.”
Sister Lucy was one of the few nuns who had dared to support the protests against rape accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal, for which many claim she is paying a heavy price. Her ‘lifestyle’ had been questioned by the Church as she wrote poems, learnt to drive, bought a car and protested against rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal.
Challenging the decision taken by Franciscan Clarist Congregation, the nun had, with high hopes, had filed the appeal before the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in Vatican however her appeal has been rejected.
“The Vatican has dismissed her appeal,” a church source said here without elaborating. The source said she would have one more opportunity to file an appeal before Supreme Tribunal of the Segnatura Apostolica within the peremptory term prescribed by the church law. If that was also rejected, she would have to leave the convent, the source told PTI. However, Sister Lucy has stood her ground and dismissed any case of her leaving the convent as she claimed to have done nothing wrong.
Superior General of FCC, Ann Joseph, had issued the letter on 5th August to Sister Lucy, stating that she “did not show the needed remorse and you failed to give a satisfactory explanation for your lifestyle in violation of the proper law of the FCC”. The General Council, which was held on 11 May 2019, unanimously voted to dismiss her from the FCC. Unable to accept the biased and arbitrary nature of this decree, Sister Lucy had stated, earlier “There is no fault on my part. I will not move out from the convent and I will fight against this (dismissal) legally.”
Last year in June, a 44-year-old nun of a church, the mother superior of a convent, had accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal of raping her 13 times since 2014. She alleged that she was blackmailed and forced to have sex with the bishop. The matter had already been reported to the church authorities but their failure in punishing the accused bishop had made the nun file a formal complaint with the police.
The nun also alleged that the church instead of acting upon her complaint had instead sided with the bishop. She had been forcefully removed from her position in the church and various charges of financial irregularities had been falsely imposed on her by the church. Sister Lucy has become a victim of the same witch-hunt for protesting against Bishop Franco Mulakkal.
Sister Lucy is not alone. In October last year, senior priest Father Kuriakose Kattuthara, who had testified against Bishop Franco, had been found dead in a room at the St. Mary’s Church complex in Dasuya town.
These developments come at a time when a number of cases of Sexual assault involving children, women and the Church officials have been surfacing, and with these recent actions initiated against Sister Lucy Kalappura who protested against one such case is not only highly distressing but also raises sharp questions regarding the depth of this issue within the church hierarchy. The Vatican too coming out against the protesting nun just further darken the clouds around these heinous acts.
On the other hand, the rape accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal enjoys political support in Kerala and the support of the Church. As is clearly evident by the kind of reception that he has received upon him getting conditional bail. Franco Mulakkal allegedly used his political clout to defame the nuns. He is also alleged to have used the Church authorities to attempt to bribe and lure the nun and her family to withdraw their complaint against him. According to a Swarjaya report, the nun was presented with an offer for 10 acres of land and a new convent. The report further states that the Nun’s brother has alleged that her sister was offered Rs 5 crore to take back the case.
In another case in 2016, the Church had reappointed another, Father Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul of the Catholic Church, a convicted and jailed priest in the Ootacamund Diocese in Tamil Nadu, with little regard for victims’ rights and children’s safety.
Sebastian Selvanathan, Spokesperson, Ooty Diocese had told the News Minute and said, “He (Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul) was released from the prison in USA through a court order. His case was then referred to the Doctrine of Faith in Rome. According to the direction from there, the suspension was lifted. He has not been given ministry now, if he is given, it will be given with certain restrictions.” Doctrine of Faith is a congregation of the Roman Curia.
With the Church expanding its missionary work in India, these developments regarding a number of sexual assault charges on Church officials are sure to further undermine their credibility. However, the Church has been hesitant to take action against serious offenders on the other hand cases of witch-hunting of victims and their supporters have surfaced. While women and children continue to be trampled over, nuns stripped off of their dignity and their faith at the expense of controversial church officials, the silence from the Vatican is deafening and deeply distressing.