Pope expels Kerala priest convicted of minor’s rape

Father Robin Vadakkumchery was sentenced in February last year

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Father Robin Vadakkumchery, a senior priest of Kerala’s Syro-Malabar Church, who was sentenced to a double life term on charges of raping a minor girl in February 2019, has been expelled by Pope Francis, the Mananthavady diocese said in a statement on Sunday.

Vadakkumchery, 51, is serving a jail term after he was convicted for raping and impregnating a 16-year-old girl in Mananthavady diocese. Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic church, came in for criticism for not taking action against Vadakkumchery even after his conviction in the case, which saw several twists and turns.

Though Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council had put out a set of guidelines for the protection of minors from sexual abuse and assault in the Church and church-controlled organisations, Vadakkumchery was never defrocked and only suspended from his priestly duties after his alleged crime came to light.

The Syro-Malabar Church was criticised for defending Vadakkumchery and in one of the prayer meetings the laity was even urged to pray for the tainted priest.

The papal decree came to Mananthavady Bishop House in the first week of December, but it was delayed for over two months because as per the Roman Catholic church’s canon law, the consent of the guilty is must.

Vadakkumchery’s misdeeds had surfaced in early 2017 after the rape survivor, a higher secondary student, gave birth to a baby in the church-run Christu Raj Hospital in Thokkilangadi of Kannur district.

She was a student at a SyroMalabar Church-run school, one of the many educational institutions managed by Vadakkumchery.

Initially, her father tried to shield Vadakkumchery and owned up to raping his daughter and was arrested.

However, the police found discrepancies in his statements during sustained interrogation, and he, finally, broke down and named Vadakkumchery as the culprit.

Vadakkumchery, once tipped to become Mananthavady Bishop, was arrested near Kochi airport a month after his alleged crime came to light while he was trying to flee to Canada.

The trial, which began in 2018, in the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court in Thalassery in north Kerala saw high drama.

The rape survivor, who had become a major by then, had told the court that she had consensual sex with Vadakkumchery and they should be allowed to live together.

Later, her parents and many other witnesses also turned hostile.

The court sentenced Vadakkumchery to 60 years’ rigorous imprisonment for the crime in February 2019 and slapped a ~3-lakh fine under various offences, including rape, destroying evidence and cheating.

He will have to spend 20 years in jail because his sentences will run concurrently.

The court had also ordered the police to book the rape survivor’s parents for misleading the probe.