Kerala cops to grill accused bishop today

NEW DELHI: A Catholic bishop accused of raping a nun in India stepped down from his position after the police summoned him for questioning following protests by nuns and women activists.

The 44-year-old nun accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal (pictured) of sexually assaulting her over a period of two years since May 2014, according to the police report filed in Kerala.

The bishop, head of the Jalandhar diocese in Punjab, rejected the charges saying they were fabricated by the nun after she was accused of having an affair with another man.

Nuns and women activists held protests demanding his arrest in the past few days after which police asked him to appear for questioning on September 19.

In a letter released on Saturday, Mulakkal said he had transferred his powers to another priest who would take charge of the administration pending the investigations.

“I leave everything into the hand of God as I await the result of the findings of the team probing the allegation,” he said in the letter.

Indian media outlets reported that the case had been brought to the notice of the Vatican. A church representative from India was in the Vatican and was likely to discuss the issue, the ANI news agency reported.

Nuns and women activists held protests demanding his arrest in the past few days after which police asked him to appear for questioning

The scandal is a major setback for Kerala’s Catholic Church which has been dealing with similar cases of sexual abuse in the recent months.

Christians comprise about 2.3 per cent of India’s 1.3 billion population, according to the census data, and more than 70 per cent of them are Catholic.