A police case has been re-gistered against a retired Indian archbishop and six priests for posing a threat to the life of a bishop who quit this month.
Police in southern Karnataka state have launched a probe against retired Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal and six diocesan priests based on a complaint by the younger sister of Bishop Kannikadass Antony William of Mysore who resign-ed on Jan. 13.
Father A. Rohan from M-sore diocese, one of the accused, denied the allegation “as base-less and fabricated.”
“We are ready to join any probe as we do not have anything to hide,” he said.
Some of us were at the forefront to expose the “illegal deeds of Bishop William,” noted Rohan.
In her complaint registered with Narasimharaja Police on January 19, the sister who calls herself “Mary Help of Chri-stians,” said there was a serious threat to the life of her brother from the people she named and sought a probe.
“Except Archbishop Cor-nelio, we all visited the police station on Jan. 23,” Rohan told UCA News on Jan. 26.
The Vatican accepted the resignation of the 58-year-old William, who was accused of murder, rape, and misappro-priation of funds.
The Vatican, however, has made it clear that it accepted the resignation due to “the distressing situation” in the diocese rather than as a puni-shment for the charges leveled against him.
Archbishop Cornelio headed a three-member Vatican panel that examined the charges against William following com-plaints from priests in the diocese.
William’s sister claimed that the accused priests and the archbishop conspired to kill her brother. But William would not file a police complaint as he is a religious person. Thus, she had to do it.