Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Associated PressSeptember 12, 2018
Catholic nuns hold placards demanding the arrest of a bishop who one nun has accused of rape, during a public protest in Kochi, Kerala, India, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018. (AP Photo)  

KOCHI, India (AP) — A group of Catholic nuns is holding a public protest in south India, demanding the arrest of a bishop whom one nun accused of rape.

The nuns, members of the order the Missionaries of Jesus, began their protest last week, gathering with dozens of supporters along a crowded street in Kochi, a coastal city in the Indian state of Kerala. India is overwhelmingly Hindu but Kerala has a large Catholic population.

"The church has not given us justice," one of the nuns, Sister Anupama, told the Times of India newspaper over the weekend. "It was the church which forced us onto the street."

 

The protest follows a June complaint to police by a Missionary of Jesus nun who accused Franco Mulakkal, bishop of the city of Jalandhar, of repeatedly sexually abusing her in 2014-2016.

The bishop has denied the accusation, saying the nun was angry because he had earlier ordered disciplinary actions against her.

Police questioned Mulakkal in July. He has not been arrested.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
Franklyn BUSBY
6 years 8 months ago

Good for them! One of the (many) dirty little sex secrets in our church is that, in the developing world, religious women are seen as nothing more than chattel: expected to submit to the sexual depravity of clergy who consider sexual abuse of religious women their "right." This phenomenon is particularly acute in Africa—where some Bishops have come to the defense of clergy convicted of serial rape. Tragically, this behavior is simply a reflection of societal standards.

The latest from america

Join the 'Jesuitical' team at the studio and headquarters of America Media in New York City for two days of community, prayer and sharing stories of faith.
JesuiticalMay 30, 2025
Solar panels on the roof of the Paul VI audience hall at the Vatican in this Dec. 1, 2010, file photo. The installation had been approved by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008. Pope Francis released his landmark environmental encyclical "Laudato Si'" 10 years ago May 24, 2015. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
There are some signs of progress in addressing the questions raised in “Laudato Si’.” There are also intimations of backpedaling, particularly by the Trump administration, regarding the industrialized world’s malign effects on creation.
Kevin ClarkeMay 30, 2025
In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen and Gerry explore the pope’s message to the Vatican workforce and recap Pope Leo’s formal installation at the Basilica of St. John Lateran on Sunday, May 25.
Inside the VaticanMay 30, 2025
Joining Zac and Ashley on this week’s episode of “Jesuitical” is Jamie Baxter, Founder & CEO of Exodus 90, a program that helps men to strengthen their faith through prayer, asceticism and fraternity.
JesuiticalMay 30, 2025