Kottayam: The Conference of the Catholic Bishops of India, the national apex body of Latin rites bishops in the country, will inquire into the sexual harassment allegation raised by a nun against Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Mulakkal.
The CCBI will submit a report to the Apostolic Nuncio of Vatican to India after the inquiry, said Bishop Joshua Mar Ignathios of Mavelikara, the first vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI).
The CBCI is the national body of bishops belonging to all three rites in India – Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara.
Bishop Ignathios said that the guilty will be punished.
This is perhaps the first reaction from the Church hierarchy about the allegation raised by the nun of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation.
“I have spoken to the CBCI secretary-general Bishop Theodore Mascrenhas regarding the issue. The CCBI, which is a forum of the Latin bishops, will inquire into the sexual harassment allegations since the Jalandhar diocese comes under the Latin rite. They will conduct an inquiry and the report will be presented to the Apostolic Nuncio of Vatican to India, Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro,” Mar Ignathios told deccanchronicle.com.