Kerala nun rape: Priest, nun face action for supporting protest

A Catholic nun has been restrained from church duties and a Jacobite priest has been warned of disciplinary action for participating in a protest by nuns demanding the arrest of rape accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal, in Kochi.

Sister Lucy Kalapura, who returned to her parish in Wayanad from Kochi on Sunday morning, claimed she was informed orally by the Mother Superior that she should keep away from holding catechism classes, conducting prayers and other activities related to the Syro Malabar Catholic church.

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“No written orders were given to me. I was only informed orally by the Mother Superior not to participate in any church-related activities,” the sister told PTI.  However, in a statement Father Stephen Kottakkal, vicar of the St Mary’s church Karakkamala in Wayanad said Sister Lucy had been asked to keep away from duties in view of certain concerns expressed by the parishioners.

He denied that the church had initiated any retaliatory measure against Sister Lucy for participating in the nuns protest in Kochi.

The priest, Bar Yuhanon Ramban, of the Ernakulam district, said that on Sunday he had received a ‘warning’ letter from his church headquarters at Damascus in Syria for supporting the nuns’ protest.

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The nuns had protested for 13 days, demanding the arrest of the bishop who was accused of repeatedly raping a fellow nun. The bishop, arrested on Friday after three days of intense grilling by Kerala police, is now in police custody.

(With PTI inputs)