Fact Check: Did Bishop Franco Mulakkal Say Rape Is A 'Holy Ritual Of Enlightenment'?

A screenshot of a news piece purportedly aired on a channel quoting to rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal is being shared on social media. The post reads: “Whatever happened between me and nun, it is not rape. It is the Holi Ritual of enlightenment to feel the Magical Existence of Holi Jesus at the end of the act.”

While sharing the post, one Facebook user Sushil Panchal Dharra wrote: "#BREAKING_NEWS NOT RAPE BUT ENLIGHTENMENT: BIS

18:43 IT IS HOLI RITUAL OF EXPERIENCING THE EXISTENCE OF JESUS: BISHOP FRANCO MULA."

Bishop Franco Mulakkal is an accused of raping a nun at a Kerala convent. He will be facing trial at a Kerala court starting November 11.

Mulakkal, a senior member of the Roman Catholic clergy in India, was arrested last year following allegations by a nun that he repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted her at the Kuravilangad convent between 2014 and 2016, a charge denied by him.

Parody handle Unpaid Times, whose Twitter handle clearly states that it is an Indian Satirical News Website, was the first to tweet the screenshot that carried the quote attributed to the Bishop.

'Whatever happened between me and nun, it is not rape. It is the Holi Ritual of enlightenment to feel the Magical Existence of Holi Jesus at the end of the act': Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of Rape. pic.twitter.com/F6E7hVMK3q

— The UnPaid Times (@UnPaidTimes) September 12, 2018

Madhu Kishwar, an Indian academic and a conservative commentator, had also tweeted the screenshot in 2018. The tweet has still not been deleted.

Awesome! May more & more skeletons come pouring out of the safe vaults of Christianity so people are disabused of their naive notions about the Church pic.twitter.com/PQqHmrnEsL

— MadhuPurnima Kishwar (@madhukishwar) September 17, 2018