In another disappointing turn of events in the Kerala nun rape case, four out of the five nuns who supported the rape survivor nun after she accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal of raping her, have been asked to leave the Kuravilangad convent as per reports. The nuns have been sent to the convents which were previously assigned to them by the Missionaries of Jesus. The action has reportedly been taken in order to break the collective strength of the nuns who had protested against rape accused Bishop Franco.
JUST IN: 4 nuns who spoke up against Bishop Franco forced out of Kerala convent. LISTEN IN as Vivek shares details pic.twitter.com/GnDk82C6fX
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) January 16, 2019
As per the report, the Church Body has ordered the nuns to be transferred to the States of Punjab, Haryana, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. A 44-year-old nun from Kerala had accused the Bishop Franco Mulakkal, the Bishop of the Diocese of Jalandhar of raping her in 2014 at a guesthouse in Kuravilangad and later on several occasions. The nun had accused the Syro-Malabar Church of taking no action against the accused. Unfortunately, the accused Bishop was given a heroic welcome when he returned to Jalandhar after being granted conditional bail.
A copy of the transfer letter, shared by Republic TV, accuses the nuns of ‘issuing malafide statements’, and spreading baseless stories to ‘tarnish the image’ of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation. The mother superior also asserts that despite the allegations the congregation has been ‘supporting the nuns with food, accommodation and medical expenses.’
In the month of October last year, Father Kuriakose who had testified against Bishop Franco was found dead under mysterious circumstances. In the month of September in 2018, the nuns of the Catholic Church Kerala had come forward to protest against the atrocities of Church. One the nuns who were protesting against the rape accused Bishop was relieved of her duties by the Syro-Malabar Church. The nun has accused that the action was taken against her because she stood for the truth.
Earlier, the church authorities have put three nuns, who had openly criticised the victim and had stood with Bishop Franco, in-charge of the Kuravilangad convent where the victim and her supporters were residing.
The Church has seemingly been hesitant to take any substantive action against the accused Bishop rather it has been consistently hostile towards the rape survivor nun and anybody who stood in her support.
