By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi, Feb 26, 2023: A national-level group of Catholic women in India has expressed distress about Bishop Franco Mulakkal visiting Pope Francis in the Vatican.
The “Sisters in Solidarity” on February 21 wrote to the Pope that they were distressed to read about Bishop Mulakkal’s February 8 meeting with the pontiff. They said they read in an Indian newspaper dated February 15 that the Pope was “glad to hear that (Bishop Mulakkal) had won the case and consoled him for his suffering.”
Kochurani Abraham, a feminist theologian and a group member, told Matters India February 25 that they could deliver the letter to the Pope’s office and concerned dicasteries only on February 24 through a Rome-based priest. Copies of the letter were also sent to the apostolic nuncio in New Delhi and Church leaders in India, Abraham said.
The letter apprised the Pope that the rape case involving Bishop Mulakkal is not over as he was acquitted only by the trial court, the first rung in India’s multi-layered appellate system. The group explained that the Kerala state and the survivor nun have appealed against the verdict in the Kerala High Court.
“Therefore, until the survivor nun has exhausted all avenues of appeal – up to the Supreme Court of India – Bishop Mulakkal cannot claim to have ‘won the case’ and be freed of the alleged crime of rape,” the group asserts.
The “solidarity” that claims to be a group of Catholic women concerned about clergy sexual abuse in the Indian Church, expresses sadness that the Pope, who consoled Bishop Mulakkal for his suffering, has failed to recognized the sister’s pain and trauma.
“Despite her writing to every ecclesiastical leader she could approach on this matter in India and at the Vatican, including yourself, till date, no one has cared to reach out to the sister. She and her companions continue to suffer much anguish at being ostracized by their own congregational authorities and the repeated attempts to transfer them, which we see as an inhuman attempt to break the survivor nun by destroying her support system,” the letter bemoans.
The group urges the Pope to await the judgment of the appellate court before reinvesting Bishop Mulakkal with any administrative responsibilities. The also points out that the prelate’s behavior has caused “a grave scandal.”
“We pray that the Holy Spirit will be your guide in discerning and dealing with these critical concerns and allow you to be fair and just to women survivors,” concludes the letter signed by 12 lay women leaders and eight women religious.
The text of the letter:
February 21, 2023
To
His Holiness, Pope Francis,
Apostolic Palace,
00120 Vatican City.
Sub: Concerns of Indian Catholic Women regarding Bishop Franco Mulakkal case.
Dear Pope Francis,
We are a group of Catholic women who are concerned about clergy sexual abuse in the Indian Church. We are distressed to read about the visit of Bishop Franco Mulakkal to you on February 8, 2023 at the Vatican. We read that you were “glad to hear that he had won the case and consoled him for his suffering” (Times of India, Thiruvananthapuram, 15 February 2023).
We wish to bring to your attention the fact that the case is not over. India has an appellate system where a trial court is only the first rung. So, though Bishop Mulakkal was acquitted by the trial court in January 2022, both the State and the survivor nun have appealed to the High Court of Kerala (Appeal petition filed by the State – CrlA 375/22 and Victim Appeal – 7/22). Therefore, until the survivor nun has exhausted all avenues of appeal, i.e. right up to the Supreme Court of India, Bishop Mulakkal cannot claim to have “won the case” and be freed of the alleged crime of rape.
Dear Pope Francis, while you “consoled him for his suffering”, we are sad that you have failed to recognize the Sister’s pain and trauma as well as those of her companions who stood by her over the past four years. Despite her writing to every ecclesiastical leader she could approach on this matter in India and at the Vatican, including yourself, till date, no one has cared to reach out to the Sister. She and her companions continue to suffer much anguish at being ostracized by their own congregational authorities and the repeated attempts to transfer them, which we see as an inhuman attempt to break the survivor nun by destroying her support system.
Considering the grave scandal caused by the behaviour of the rape accused Bishop Mulakkal and that the criminal case against him continues in the higher court, we entreat the Holy See to await the judgment of the final appellate court before reinvesting him with any administrative responsibilities.
We pray that the Holy Spirit will be your guide in discerning and dealing with these critical concerns and allow you to be fair and just to women survivors.
In Christ Jesus,
Sisters in Solidarity,
Adv. Flavia Agnes, Mumbai, flaviaagnes@gmail.com,
Adv. Sandhya George, Kerala, Sandhyageorge@yahoo.com,
Adv. Sr. Julie George, Pune, julierosegeorge@gmail.com,
Dr. Astrid Lobo Gajiwala, Mumbai, astridlg2021@gmail.com,
Dr. Kochurani Abraham, Kerala, kochuabraham@gmail.com,
Dr. Neena Joseph, Kerala, facultyimgdrnj@gmail.com,
Ms. AleyammaVijayan, Kerala, aleyamma.vijayan@gmail.com,
Ms. Anita Cheria, Bangalore, cheriaanita@gmail.com,
Ms. Hazel Lobo, Mumbai, zealheal@gmail.com,
Ms. Marcia D’Cunha, Mumbai, marciadcunha@gmail.com,
Ms. Raynah Braganza Passanha, Pune, raynahbraganzapassanha@gmail.com,
Ms. Veena Simon, Bangalore, veena.simon@gmail.com,
Ms. Virginia Saldanha, Mumbai, womyn2023@gmail.com,
Sr. Annie Jaise, Kerala, sraanijaise2017@gmail.com,
Sr. Anupama, Kerala, alphonsasaly@gmail.com,
Sr. Clare Therese, Chennai, claremtherese1@gmail.com,
Sr. Helen Saldanha, Pune, helen.saldanha@gmail.com,
Sr. Manju Kulapuram, Delhi, manjukulapuram@gmail.com,
Sr. Rose Thomas, Pune, rosessps@gmail.com,
Sr. Theresa Meera, Karnataka, ethammac@gmail.com.
CC to:
1. Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect, Dicastery for Bishops
2. H. E. Msgr. Ilson de JesusMontanari, Secretary, Dicastery for Bishops
3. Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer SJ, Prefect, Dicastery for Doctrine of Faith
4. Bishop Charles Jude Scicluna,Secretary, Dicastery for Doctrine of Faith
5. Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, Prefect, Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
6. H.E. Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal, New Delhi
7. Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Member of Council of Cardinal Advisers
8. Most Rev. Andrews Thazhath, President, Catholic Bishops Conference India (CBCI)
9. Mar George Njaralakatt, First Vice President, CBCI
10. Joshua Mar Ignathios, Second Vice-President, CBCI
11. Archbishop Felix Machado, Secretary General, CBCI
Shameful how the Vatican supports all these rapists who prey on women, nuns and children. Public should trash these perverts. Pope is a spineless rogue. God knows what all he has done earlier. I have tremendous faith in Christ, I hate the clergy. I have given up going to church, no rogue is going to tell me how to live my life.
Allwyn Fernandes was a gentleman par excellence and a very high calibre journalist and author. His passing away in December 2014 is a great loss to the Laity of India. Several senior journalists of today have worked under him or have been taught by him at the many schools of journalism he was associated with. Obviously the Hierarchy was not pleased with him for his prophetic voice.
The hierarchy and priests used to target my late brother allwynfernandes
TOI for publishing news about wrong doings in church saying he is spoiling catholic church name
Now who is doing shameful things
To nuns boys and choir girls
And mass media is flashing the truths
we have read about bad popes in the past, hope francis is not becoming one. Amen🙏.
Never expect to give justice to humanity .Take the case of unmarked graves of Children , Goa inquisition , 4800 victims of child abuse by Portuguese Catholic Church ,3000 child abuse in France . They never say pardon us but they preach us forgiveness and their business goes on as the most powerful devils .Canon law is only applicable in Vatican ? Then why they are concluding based lower court verdict .
There is a twisting drama is going on.There is no transparency on both side.According to our Chhotebhai ,Convenor,Indian Catholic Forum and I found is statements is sound ,healthy and why?The Catholic Church is not take a immediate action in order to prevent the sexual abuse of the clerics which is an on going process.who will play the role of the Prophet Nathaniel to the accused?
Suffering of nuns will continue for life
Their Agony is much more than Christ’s
As they r alive
For them it is lent throughout
Cardinal Gracious should resign taking moral responsibility as in the leaked conversation with William it is clearly captured how he helped.
Franco’s meeting with Francis is a clear evidence that the Pope is kept in darkness and not properly informed by some “vested interests” within the Vatican. No doubt that these vested interests have been “bought” by Franco. Franco’s money power has helped him to make an easy entry into the Vatican and meet the “ignorant Pope”. It is high time for the Pope to undertake “cleansing of bad elements within the Vatican”. May Jesus of Nazareth, who chased the business people from the temple, inspire the Pope to chase the “selfish, anti-Christ and corrupt officials” from the Vatican. This is the need of the hour.
The appeal of supplication to Pope Francis by the 20 “Sisters in Solidarity” will fall on deaf ears. The Pope for all his reformist mentality is still guided by Hierarchical form of reporting – in this case he will listen to only Cardinal Oswald Gracias and the Nuncio to India & Nepal. I don’t think he did any cross-checking or fact-finding on Franco Mulakkal with priests, lay members and other nuns of Kerala. Otherwise, he would have arranged for a special hearing of the hapless victim nun and her associates who have been by her side, come rain or shine. On the one hand the Pope talks of woman empowerment and sensitivity towards them, on the other hand he allows victim nuns to languish despite repeated appeals for justice from them. To say the least, his stand on justice for women has been very ambivalent. He may not have liked the victim nun coming out with her grievances and going court when all the church mechanisms of Grievance Redress (are there any?) failed.
Since Mulakkal is still not officially reinstated to his post after his acquittal by Kerala trial court, it’s a matter of great mystery who allowed and funded Mulakkal’s trip to the Vatican to seek an audience with the Pope. The report in the Times of India dated 15th February 2023 that “The Pope was happy to see him, was glad to hear that we won the case and consoled him for his suffering by encouraging him to join with the suffering of the Lord” is all Mulakkal’s creation and is certainly not the Pope’s version. There is no official Vatican News release about the Pope’s views on this meeting.
Earlier, Mulakkal had tried to plant and spread the news in Kerala and Jalandhar churches in that he would soon be reinstated after his acquittal by Kottayam trial court. However, the church authorities in both places confirmed that the news is a ‘self-generated’ propaganda by Bishop Franco and his supporters, and there is no move to reinstate him. “This is a pure hoax planted by Bishop Franco to make him a saint.” (Source: The Quint 15 June 2022). As chhotebhai pointed out so rightly Franco Mulakkal should have been defrocked by now only for his violation of the sixth commandment (celibacy). But very surprisingly this has not happened and this will allow him to deflower many more nuns with impunity!
Mulakkal’s mysterious acquittal by Kottayam trial court is best summed up by renowned criminal law practitioner Rebecca M John, Senior Advocate, criticized the judgment of the trial court which acquitted Bishop Franco Mulakkal in the nun rape case. She termed the judgment “a travesty”, which “put the victim on trial instead of the accused”, “overturned the criminal law jurisprudence” and “completely disregarded the law of the land” (link: https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/rebecca-john-criticizes-bishop-franco-judgment-overturned-criminal-law-jurisprudence-put-rape-survivor-on-trial-190135).
Very unfortunately no one knows about the fate of the revision petition being heard at Kerala High Court. There appears to be blanket ban on this matter, even in the Church media. What are ICPA and Indian Currents which talks so much about “Prophetic role of Catholic Journalists” doing? They are not uttering a word neither on Franco nor on William!
Having read through the entire 289 pages ruling of the Addl. Session Judge where Bishop Franko was acquited, there are two points that needed to be noted. There was certainly flaws in the case, and the investigatin too was shoddily carried out. Therefore, it is not suprising that the court pronouced the juddgement in favour of the accused. However, the detailed judgment had also told many stories without acutally speaking, therefore, on moral ground at least, the Church hierarchy ought to treat the matter seriously and not take the judicial ruling as an absolute clean chit. It will be in the over interest of the Catholic Church for Rome to contemplate action against the Bishop instead of giving him a patient hearing.
Let me add that this is not just a women’s issue but the very credibility of the Catholic Church is at stake. Having read the entire judgement I have no doubt that Frightening Franco has been in an ongoing sexual relationship with the victim. At worst he is guilty of rape using a fiduciary relationship. At least, if deemed consensual, he is guilty of severe immorality and needs to be sacked.
We also need to verify if the press report of sympathy was issued by Mulakkal’s PR team or by the Vatican press office.
chhotebhai
CONVENOR
INDIAN CATHOLIC FORUM
In this period of lent, my fervent prayer is that we as faithful examine ourselves in the light of Christ whose disciples we claim to be. Can we be Christ’s disciples if we chose to lose ourselves in pious practices and religious services instead of living according to the mind and heart of Christ himself? Isaiah 58:6 tells us ” Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?”
The sisters struggling to have their stories heard by the powers that be have been failed by the hierarchical Church that has chosen not to listen to their pain; betrayed by the silent fellow religious, clergy, and laity who have chosen to [mis]-judge the sisters and side with the bishop because of his position and power. Our selfish prejudices and fears have made us complicit in the injustice against the abused sister and her companions in this case and in the cases of so many children, women and religious sisters whose cases of clergy abuse have been silenced and suppressed.
My earnest plea to all faithful is to break though the fear of the powers that be and the selfish focus on our individual salvation that makes us apathetic, unresponsive and silent to the various kinds of abuse, exclusion, silencing, and injustice that goes on in our Church. Our silence makes us complicit in the cover-up of abuse, protection of the abusers, silencing of dissenting and challenging voices that Church leaders carry out in the name of the divine.
We – laity, clergy, religious cannot anymore in good conscience stay silent and pretend that abuse of vulnerable adults and children in the Church does not take place. We cannot from fear demand re-instatement of abusers. We cannot, especially if we are in leadership roles in the Church, heading dioceses, seminaries, religious congregations, organizations etc. pretend that the Church we are in provides a counter witness to Christ and his teachings.
This season of lent may we die to our weaknesses and fears that prevent us from “loosening the bands of wickedness, undoing the heavy burdens, breaking the heavy yokes” of vulnerable children and adults who are abused victims within the Church. Can we listen to their stories of pain, exclusion, suffering? Can we choose to listen to their pain, anguish, isolation and accompany them in their struggle to regain the dignity that they have had abused.
The sisters fighting in the case against the bishop
The maxim ‘Love your neighbour AS yourself” necessitates that we see cannot see the neighbour wounded and alone as apart from me… I am responsible for their situation, for their healing for in Christ I am one with them.
How can the Pope give an audience to the likes of Mulakka ? The severe problem in the Catholic Church is the Vstacan does not pay heed to the laity. No matter how serious the problem may be. Any wonder so many Catholics are loosing faith in the Church
It is my prayer that more Catholic faithful recognise that silence at allegations forms of abuse, misuse of power and authority, exclusion of women and other minorities from being an integral part of the Church and other injustices, deny the very Christ we claim to follow. Pious practices, religious & otherwise, which abuse in this season of lent have no value. For we read Isaiah 58:6 The kind of fasting I want is this: Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free.
The call of Jesus to love our neighbor AS ourselves demands that we see the wounded, the abused, the excluded, etc AS OURSELVES…
This season of lent demands we examine our silence and apathy at addressing issues within our Church & Society if we genuinely believe we are disciples of Christ! Nothing less than putting on the heat and mind of Christ is our calling so that in His name we can live the potential & mandate we receive at our baptism to be other Christs.
Personal salvation is never a possibility if I understand that the cosmos, i myself , and all others whoever they are, are ONE & thus I need to be concerned and responsible for the well-being of ALL. Silence is not an option for followers of Christ. Standing by and for the voiceless is. WE ARE THE CHURCH.
I entreat you Let us challenge anyone who in the name of the divine perpetuates abuse, protects abusers, and denies / stands in the way of justice.
We cannot claim to be “FAITHFUL” To Christ if we by our silence /actions support those who counter witness Christ…
This Lent let us challenge ourselves to examine if we truly are In CHRIST…
To acknowledge our sins of omission and commission which allow abuse to flourish in our Church
Let us find the courage to die to our fears and rise to appropriating the heart And mind of Christ…