Kerala police to question Bishop

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: THE NUN HAS ACCUSED JALANDHARBASED BISHOP OF RAPING HER 13 TIMES FOR TWO YRS, FROM 2014 TO 2016

A sixmember Kerala police team on Friday left for Jalandhar to question a Bishop accused of sexually abusing a nun.

The team, led by Vaikom deputy superintendent of police K Subhash, made a stopover in Delhi to question a woman who had filed a counter complaint against the nun, accusing the 43-year-old of having an affair with her husband, officials familiar with the matter said.

A first information report (FIR) was registered against Bishop Frank Mullakkal on June 30 after the complainant nun accused him of sexually abusing her multiple times from 2014 to 2016.

In her complaint, the nun alleged that the Bishop first sexually abused her in 2014 after summoning her on the pretext of discussing an important issue. She said the Bishop raped her 13 times through the span of next two years. The nun said she had complained to church authorities last December, but their inaction forced her to file a police complaint.

Mullakkal, however, denied the charges levelled against him, stating that he was being falsely implicated for ‘exposing’ financial irregularities at a convent that was being overlooked by the nun. He had filed a case against the nun’s family, accusing them of threatening him.

Last week, a priest was arrested in the case after an audio clip in which he was purportedly heard threatening an acquaintance of the victim to withdraw the complaint surfaced.

In a related development, Justice Sunil Thomas recused himself from hearing a petition filed by the Catholic Reformation Movement seeking a court-monitored probe into the case. In its plea, the group questioned the “delay” in arresting the bishop and sought protection for the complainant.

Without making a direct reference to any case, Kerala Catholic Bishop Conference president, Archbishop Soosa Pakiam, on Friday urged the clergy to “restore the trust of believers”. “Sanctity is uppermost for the clergy and everyone is obliged to protect this. Priests and nuns should be role models of simplicity and sanctity,” he said while addressing a religious meet in the state capital.