Nun seeks justice from Vatican in rape case

Kottayam/Jalandhar: Weeks after accusing a Roman Catholic Bishop of raping her, a nun has sought urgent intervention of the Vatican for justice and demanded his removal as the head of the Jalandhar diocese, questioning why the Church was “closing its eyes to the truth” when she mustered courage to make public her sufferings.

In a scathing letter to the Vatican that was made available to the media Tuesday, the nun also asked will the Church be able to give back what she has lost. She alleged that Bishop Franco Mulakkal was using “political and money power” to bury the case against him.

Noting that she felt the Catholic Church was still doubting her over the argument as to why she allowed the bishop to sexually abuse her multiple times, the nun said she had tremendous fear and shame to bring this out into the open. She also feared ‘threats’ her family members.

Bishop Mulakkal on his part rejected the charges against him as “baseless and concocted” and said he was open for a probe. The bishop also accused the nun of “blackmailing” him.

With the protest by various Catholic Reform organisations in Kochi seeking justice for the nun entering the fourth day, the Kerala government said “justice will be done” amid reports that Cardinal Gracias, the President of Catholic Bishops Conference of India, will be raising the alleged rape of the nun with the Holy Pope.

As the nun shot off the lengthy letter to Giambattista Diquattro, the Vatican representative in India, the “Missionaries of Jesus”, a congregation to which she belongs, came out against her and five other nuns, who are staging a protest seeking justice, accusing them of “spreading blatant lies” against the Bishop. But the protesting nuns rejected the charge and said they will continue their agitation till justice was delivered.

In her lengthy letter, the nun also sought to explain her silence before coming out against the bishop and said she had “tremendous fear and shame” and wondered why the church was “closing its eyes to the truth”.

Senior Kerala minister E.P. Jayarajan rejected allegations of attempts to sabotage the case and asserted that the probe was proceeding in the “right direction.”

“A very strong investigation is being carried out in the case. It is proceeding in the right direction. No accused would be allowed to escape the clutches of the law,” he told reporters in Kannur.

The minister also said there was no pressure on the government in acting against the bishop.