Sister Lucy Kalappura the nun who dared to challenge the wrongdoings of the Church, has been issued a second warning letter by the Church ‘since her lifestyle and actions are not in line with our religious and community life’.
This is the second warning letter issued by Sister Ann Joseph, Superior General, Franciscan Ciarist Congregation (FCC), to the nun in a span of one-and-a-half months.
Sister Lucy Kalappura has consistently stood with the survivor nun in the Bishop Franco rape case and the other nuns who supported her. She has been vocal too on how the Church is wrong in cornering the nuns who are standing for a cause.
The second warning, issued on February 14, was on the grounds that her reply to the first warning ‘was found insufficient and unacceptable.’
“You are trying to give personal justifications. Since your lifestyle and actions are not in line with our religious and community life, through this second canonical warning, you are once more invited to correct yourself and rectify your wrongdoings. In the second warning, I formally inform you that the FCC can’t accept your explanations as satisfactory since the allegations against you are juridically proven. I repeat here that the proven allegations against you,” the letter says.
Going on to list 11 ‘violations’ by Sister Lucy, Sister Ann Joseph invites her to change her mind and attitude and reform herself. Warning that if her second reply isn’t satisfactory, the Superior General warns of dismissing her from the Franciscan Clarist Congregation. She concludes her letter setting a deadline of March 10 for a response.
The first letter was issued on January 1 this year.
"In that warning you were asked to meet me personally and eventually present your possible defence. You refused to comply with the instructions contained in that warning letter. On January 2 you have given your written reply trying to justify your refusal to meet me, your legitimate Superior General. In your reply you refuse to acknowledge your wrongdoings and violations of the canonical norms and rules,” the letter says. In this also the Superior General has elaborated the ‘wrongdoings’; by the sister, the same as in the first letter, like not duly submitting salary to the community from December 2017 onwards, not regularly participating in the community prayer, acted against the legitimate order of provincial superior by buying a personal car, made monetary transaction in publishing a book and so on.
Speaking to TNM, Sister Lucy Kalappura says that she doesn’t believe that she has done anything wrong, but has been right only.
“I am not ready to admit that what all rights I have done is wrong. The biggest law on earth is love and the biggest law of God is also love. I will continue giving support to the nuns. I have an account on what all rights I have done. The money they mention in the letter is what I have spent on social work,” she says.
Sister Lucy is calm and sounded happy. She smiles while she answers. “They have been talking about Canon law for sometime now, I don’t understand what it is, I may need to research on it now,” she satirically says. “The Pope asks us, the nuns, to be happy, to laugh, to jump in joy, to reach out to the common man. That is what I am doing. There should be love beyond all laws. Jesus has come to earth to preach the lesson of God, that of love. How many good lessons he has taught us. What is the use in following Canon Law if not living as per lessons taught by Jesus,” she asks.
On reply to the warning she says, “There is enough time no to respond right? What if they said the reply is not satisfactory this time too?. I am facing all this with a smile,” the nun says.
When asked if this was the first step in ousting her from the convent or the Church she says that she has the same feeling. “But we all are living in a country in which there is judiciary and justice no? Let me see,” Sister Lucy says.
With Inputs from Sandeep Vellaram