With reference to the Kerala nun rape case, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) on Sunday said that law should take its course in the matter while denying the reports that it wanted Jalandhar-based Bishop Franco Mulakkal to step down.
“(Our) silence should in no way be construed as siding with either of the two parties. We have learnt of certain statements attributed to our President, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, that (accused) Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar diocese should step down,” CBCI Secretary General Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas said in a statement issued in Thiruvananthapuram.
“We wish to clarify that he has made no such statement and wishes to disassociate himself from any such statement. Bombay Archdiocese spokesman’s comments are in his personal capacity and have to be taken as such.
“We reiterate what we said earlier: The CBCI has no jurisdiction over individual Bishops. Besides, a police probe is on. One party has approached the Kerala High Court… Church authorities will take a decision once police file a definitive report after investigations,” the statement added.
The CBCI statement comes after Kerala Police asked Bishop Mulakkal to appear before a probe team on September 19. Bishop Mascarenhas said they were expressing their “distress” over developments regarding accusations against Mulakkal.
Bishop Mulakkal has been accused of raping a nun on multiple occasions between 2014 and 2016 while five other nuns of the congregation have supported her claim.
An FIR was registered against the Bishop with the nun and other convent inmates giving detailed statements running into 114 pages. Mulakkal had stepped down from his post on Saturday handing over temporary charge of the diocese to a senior priest. He has denied any wrongdoing and termed the case a “conspiracy” against him.