THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Police on Tuesday charged an Indian bishop with repeatedly raping a nun at a convent in Kerala state in a case that puts a new spotlight on sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic church.
Franco Mulakkal was charged with raping the nun several times between 2014 and 2016, police deputy superintendent of Vaikom district, K. Subash, told AFP.
1,400-page charge sheet
The 1,400-page charge sheet against Bishop Franco Mulakkal was filed before the Magistrate Court in Pala, Kerala, where the trial will take place. The charges include rape, unnatural sex and keeping in forced custody, IANS reports
Mulakkal was arrested on September 21, 2018, on rape charges after four nuns joined a public protest in Kochi forcing the police to take action against the bishop.
Mulakkal secured bail on October 16, 2018, but is no longer head of the diocese.
The charge sheet names 83 witnesses, which include the Cardinal of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Mar George Alencherry, three bishops, 11 priests and several nuns.
The probe picked pace only after Sister Anupama, along with three other nuns, staged a public protest, which received huge public support. Last month, the nuns threatened to launch another protest if the charge sheet was delayed.
Hearing the news of the submission of the charge sheet, Anupama said they were happy with the development. "We feel we have got 50 per cent justice and wish to thank the police team, which we all know was under tremendous pressure."
"We know only half of the job is done, and hope the trial will start soon," she said.
Delay in police action
The victim filed a formal complaint in June last year, but police only started formal questioning in September after fury over the case mounted.
The lack of action provoked outrage and five nuns — in a rare public show of dissent within the church — staged days of protests with dozens of supporters.
Mulakkal was arrested in October before being released on bail. Senior members of the church in the southern state have supported the 55-year-old bishop, however, and he was cheered when he returned to his diocese.
Christians — overwhelmingly Catholic — are the third-largest religious group in India. Around 80 per cent of the country’s 1.3 billion population is Hindu, followed by a sizeable Muslim minority.
Sexual abuse by clergy and the failure to take action has mired the Roman Catholic Church in scandal across the world in recent years.
In February, Pope Francis publicly addressed sexual abuse of nuns by clerics for the first time, insisting the Vatican takes seriously reports of sexual abuse and the “sexual slavery” of nuns.
