NCW chief slams church for 'glorifying' rape-accused Kerala bishop

The National Commission for Women Saturday accused the Catholic Church of not protecting the interest of a nun, who has alleged that Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mullakal raped her in 2014.

The church was in the process of "glorifying" the Bishop arrested for raping her, NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma alleged.

She slammed the church for not implementing its directive to constitute internal complaint committees in their institutions where many nuns are serving, saying such a mechanism was a must for protecting them from harassment.

"In churches we don't have any internal complaint committees," she told reporters here.

Sharma said nuns who came up against Jalandhar Bishop could never get justice from the Church because of the absence of such a mechanism in their institutions. "There was nobody she (victimised nun) could go and complain. We have also written to the church, urging them to constitute internal complaint committees where women can complain," she said.

She alleged that "till now the church has not come clean" in the nun rape case. Mulakkal, who was Bishop of Jalandhar diocese, was arrested in September for allegedly raping the nun at Kuravilangadu in Kottayam district.

In her complaint to the Kottayam police in June, the nun had alleged that Mulakkal raped her at a guest house in Kuravilangad in May 2014 and later sexually exploited her on several occasions.

However, Mulakkal has denied the charges. He was later granted conditional bail in the case. He had given up his pastoral duties of Jalandhar diocese of the Missionaries of Jesus and transferred his administrative powers to Bishop Agnelo Gracious.

"We should have internal complaint committees in all the religious places--especially in churches where many nuns are serving. Not many women are serving in the temples or other religious organisations. But in Christianity... in Churches... many nuns are there," Sharma said.

"They (the Church) are glorifying the accused Bishop," Sharma said.