The Indian Christian Women Movement, an ecumenical group, has issued an open letter addressed to the leaders of various Churchesin the country.
We, as women of the Chur-ches, waited for the verdict impa-tiently, we were so sure that the accused will be indicted.
In our estimation, all evidence pointed to the guilt of Franco Mulakkal. All that remained was for the guilty verdict and for the Church to acknowledge its connivance and announce, in no uncertain terms, its agreement with the strongest punishment that he deserves.
But, this was not to be. Mulakkal was acquitted of all charges; and the survivor Sister was left to deal with the consequences of crimes she did not commit.
In the text of the judgment, as submitted to the court, words have been written about the nun; intimate details enumerated which should shame every Christian woman, let alone a sister who has dedicated her life to obedience and submissiveness to authority in the church.
Her defence was downplayed and she was left in the lurch by the Church. This has been the most difficult – feeling let down by the Church to which she had avowed allegiance.
For us as women of the Church this betrayal has been the most painful to accept. We call on the leadership of the Church to account for their attitude ever since the survivor Sister courageously spoke out about her ordeal. The Church did not react as it should have – letters of appeal she sent to the leadership of the Church were ignored; the church remained silent in the face of her humiliation in the court.
Daily Archives: January 31, 2022
Nun arrested after hostel girl dies by suicide in Tamil Nadu
A Catholic nun was arrested in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu after a 17-year-old girl died by suicide.
The girl took poison January 9 at her hostel at Michaelpatti in Thanjavur district, and died 10 days later.
Sister Sahaya Mary, the 62-year-old hostel warden, was arrested under the Juvenile Act apart from charges of abetting suicide. The place is near Poondi Madha shrine that comes under the diocese of Kumbakonam.
A report in ndtv.com says the girl took poison alleging abuse by her hostel warden and an attempt to convert her family to Christianity.
“In an unverified video that has surfaced after her death, the girl says she may have been harassed and abused because her family refused to convert to Christianity,” the report says.
The ndtv.com report says the news organization could not independently verify the video that surfaced after the girl’s death. Jesuit Father Arockiasamy Santhanam, spokesperson for the National Lawyers Forum of Religious and Priests, says the First Information Report does not mention conversion. “It is the cook up story by the Hindutva elements,” he told on January 21.
According to him, the police had gone to the hospital to collect the girl’s statement.
The priest also explained that the girl had lost her mother eight years ago and her father married another woman.
Indian priest on indefinite fast against uniform liturgy
A Catholic priest in India has launched an indefinite hunger strike against his Eastern-rite Church’s demand that all priests stop celebra-ting Mass facing the congregation in order to have uniformity in the liturgy. Father Babu Joseph Kalathil of Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese started his fast in the arch-bishop’s house on Jan. 12. He said the synod’s decision meant priests turning to the altar during Eucharistic prayer, which was not acceptable to him and his supporters. Fr Kalathil represented the priests of the archdiocese who pledge their full support to him. He followed by Fr Tom Mullanchira and two laymen Prakash P. John and N.O. Thomas continued the fast until Abp Kariyil CMI gave word that Mass facing the people will be followed in the archdiocese. Priests have accused Card. Alencherry and the bishops who support him of causing a rift between priests and the laity by insisting on a uniform liturgy. “If the synod continues with its adamant stand, the archdiocese with more than 500,000 followers will be in turmoil and the future of the church will also be at stake,” he said.
Nun rape case verdict evokes sympathy, support for victim
Support and sympathy for a Catholic nun continue to pour in even a week after a court in Kerala dismissed her case against a bishop.
Additional District and Sessions Court Judge G. Gopakumar on January 14 acquitted Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar in the historic nun rape case, saying the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against him.
The nun, a former superior general of the Missionaries of Jesus, a Jalandhar diocesan congregation, had in June 2018 accused Bishop Mulakkal of raping her 13 times between 2014 and 2016.
“When it is not feasible to separate truth from falsehood, when grain and chaff are inextricably mixed up, the only available course is to discard the evidence in toto,” said Judge Gopakumar in his verdict.
“In the said circumstances, this court is unable to place reliance on the solitary testimony of a rape victim and to hold the accused guilty of the offences charged against him. I accordingly acquit the accused of the offences,” the judge added.
After the verdict was pronounced, Bishop Mulakkal came out of the court saying, “Praise God.” His supporters hail the verdict as a victory for the Church since those behind the case were its enemies. The prelate reportedly offered Mass in a charismatic retreat center and visited people who had supported him in the media.
However, the verdict sent shock and disbelief among women across the country.
Astrid Lobo Gajiwala, a Mumbai-based woman theologian, says that the judgment is “a huge deterrent to rape survivors coming forward to seek justice, especially in the Church.”
“It tremendous courage for a Catholic nun to go public about being raped by a bishop, in a Church that claims its hierarchy is divinely instituted,” explains Gajiwala, who claims to be aware of “the prolonged physical, psychological and financial toll that this case has taken on the survivor and her supporters. It is unimaginable that she would go through this if it were not true.”