By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi: Catholic laity groups in India have welcomed the news that the Vatican has initiated a probe into allegations against Bishop Kannikadass Antony William of Mysore.
The Vatican has finally set up an enquiry commission to look into all the allegations against Bishop William, says a press note from the Association of Concerned Catholics, a pan-Indian group that raised the allegations initially.
According to the association, the three-member commission is headed by Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal.
“It is a long pending issue which warranted urgent action given the seriousness of the allegations,” Melwyn Fernandes, the association’s general secretary, told Matters India on February 27.
Welcoming the Vatican move that has come after “our persistent demands,” Fernandes expressed the hope that the Vatican commission “will get to the bottom of the issue and do justice.”
Bishop William, who turned 56 on February 27, was accused of being a womanizer and father of two children. He alleged have had two of his priests murdered, used the police and other unfair practices to coerce or threaten victims and witnesses and tried to extract forced confession from one of his priest.
Other allegations against him are that he was involved in the kidnapping and sexual molestation of one of his employees, large scale misappropriation of some relief funds and threatening and harassing an elderly priest.
Bishop William has denied the allegations which he said were the handiwork of a group of priests who oppose his administrative reforms in the diocese. According to him, the “heinous charges” against him were baseless and an attempt to tarnish his image.
Meanwhile Joseph Sodder, founder member of Association of Concerned Catholics and senior advocate of High Court of Bombay, has welcomed the news and requested Cardinal Oswald Gracias, head of the Catholic Church in India, to urge the probe team to examine him as a witness in Mumbai.
“I wish to be examined as a witness by the inquiry team in Mumbai, as I fear for my life in Mysuru (new name of Mysore), also the air ticket to Bangalore is expensive. I have visited Mysuru several times with regards to this case and know the ground reality with regards to the facts of this case,” he wrote to the cardinal February 27.
Sodder wants Bishop William’s DNA test to be done in Mumbai to avoid someone tampering with the results.
Another person who wants to meet the probe team is Justice Saldanha, a former Judge of the High Courts of Bombay and Karnataka who has been highlighting the case for the past two years.
In a letter addressed to Cardinal Gracias with copies to Archbishop Cornelio and Peter Machado of Bangalore, the former judge urged the Church leaders not to make the probe confidential known only to the Church circles. He also wants them to ensure the safety and security of those deposing before the Vatican team. No revengeful action should be taken against them later, he adds.
Last year, the Indian Catholic Forum, another laity group, had urged the papal representative in the country to set up a seven-member committee to probe various allegations against Bishop William.
The committee members “should be mandated to make public their report within thirty days of being commissioned to do so,” said the forum’s July 31, 2020, letter addressed to Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro.
The forum wanted the probe committee to include experts in financial and legal matters, besides two priests and three lay people, including women. The forum also wanted Bishop William suspended from “exercising episcopal office” and “extradited” from the territory of Mysore diocese, considering the gravity of the charges against him.