In yet another twist in the case in which a nun was allegedly raped by a Catholic bishop, Fr Franco Mulakkal, a letter written by the survivor to the Missionaries of Jesus has surfaced. In the letter written to the Roman Catholic religious order for women, the survivor has accused the priest of raping and threatening her.
According to reports, she has also alleged that even though she had written to the Mother General about the incident, no action was taken and that this is why she had written the letter.
“The Mother General of the convent has instead supported the bishop. The rights and dignity of nuns should be ensured in convents; many have left when they lost both. The situation has become such that only those who please the bishop and the Mother General can continue in the convent. Others are treated poorly,” the letter says.
The letter also alleges that four nuns had to face severe threats and bad behaviour from the bishop. Franco Mulakkal is the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar in Punjab,
Another bishop of diocese meanwhile told Asianet News that he was also threatened for supporting the nun who has complained against the bishop. "Lies were propagated against me. I was subjected to mental harassment and was threatened to give a false statement against the nun," he alleged.
The 44-year-old Catholic nun approached the state police in June accusing the bishop of rape, after her complaint to the church went unnoticed.
The nun is currently posted in Kottayam district of the state. She has accused the bishop of sexually abusing her since 2014. She filed the complaint to the Kottayam SP on June 29 in which she has alleged that the bishop sexually abused her multiple times.
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