Bishop’s resignation: Rape survivor to continue legal fight, says forum
A day after the resignation of Franco Mulakkal as the Jalandhar bishop, ‘Save Our Sisters’ campaigners on Friday said the survivor nun, who had levelled rape charges against him, would continue her fight for justice through the legal system
A day after the resignation of Franco Mulakkal as the Jalandhar bishop, ‘Save Our Sisters’ campaigners on Friday said the survivor nun, who had levelled rape charges against him, would continue her fight for justice through the legal system.
‘Save Our Sisters’ (SOS) is a forum comprising nuns, priests, and prominent members of civil society launched in Kerala to support the nun when she came out in public with rape charges against the influential bishop a few years ago.
Fr Augustine Vattoly, a senior Catholic priest, who is the convener of the forum, said Mulakkal’s resignation is a small relief to the survivor nun and a group of her fellow nuns, who had faced intense social media attacks for raising charges against the former bishop.
The priest said he spoke to the survivor after the Vatican’s announcement regarding the bishop’s resignation came out on Thursday evening.
“She does not have any blind happiness. But, of course, she has hope. That’s why she is still ready to continue her fight for justice,” the priest said.
Mulakkal, who was acquitted by a local court in Kerala last year in the nun rape case, resigned from Jalandhar bishop’s post on Thursday. The nun has challenged the trial court’s decision at Kerala high court.
Recounting the ordeals the survivor had gone through during her fight for justice, Fr Vattoly said the mental tortures she had to suffer from society, the community, and the power centres of the church were beyond her imagination.
“The attacks through the media and social media have scared, hurt, and pained her. So, Mulakkal’s resignation is, of course, a small relief to the survivor and her fellow nuns,” he said.
The nun had accused Mulakkal of raping her multiple times during his visit to a convent in Kottayam, Kerala, between 2014 and 2016, when he was the bishop of the Jalandhar diocese in Punjab.
Coming down heavily on the former bishop for claiming to be innocent in his resignation message, Fr Vattoly said Mulakkal might have thought that the faithful would believe him if he recited biblical verses. It would have been a shame for the church if he continued to remain in the position.
When asked whether the survivor gets justice through Mulakkal’s resignation, Fr Vattoly said she would get justice when it is granted through the court.