By Matters India Reporter
Kochi: Cardinal George Alencherry on July 2 denied that he has received any complaint from a nun about being sexually abused by a Catholic bishop.
“I have not received any such complaint,” the head of the Syro-Malabar Church told reporters at the Kochi International Airport on his arrival from Rome where he had gone to attend the installation of new cardinals by Pope Francis.
He, however, said the nun had met him to complain about some developments in her congregation.
The nun, whose name cannot be revealed for legal reasons, on June 30 approached the Inspector General of Police in Kerala, southern India, alleging that the cardinal had not acted on her complaint against Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar.
Cardinal Alencherry says he has no authority to deal with a case involving a Latin rite. Jalandhar diocese and the nun’s congregation, Missionaries of Jesus, belong to the Latin rite and that it was the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India that addresses Latin rite matters.
On June 29, the nun had filed another police case alleging that Bishop Mulakkal raped her in May 2014 at their convent in Kuravilangad near Kerala’s Kottayam town. She was subjected to rape and unnatural sex by the bishop on 13 different occasions later on, she further alleged.
Bishop Mulakkal, 55, has denied the charge and dismissed the case as an act of revenge by the nun for transferring her from the superior’s post in the the 25-year-old diocesan congregation for women that works mainly in Punjab.
He said the nun was upset with him for initiating a probe against her after a married woman sent him a 12-page complaint alleging the nun had sexual relations with her husband.
Meanwhile, Malayalam TV channels on July 2 reported that the police have recovered the guest register of the Kuravilangad convent showing that the bishop had stayed there. Police said they would question other nuns in the convent as part of their investigation.
The channels also reported that the nun has emailed a complaint against Bishop Mulakkal to Pope Francis through the apostolic nunciature based in New Delhi.
Meanwhile, attempts are being made to isolate the nun in her congregation, the media reported.