Bishop Franco always had an eagle's eye on the sisters: Nun in her letter to Vatican

Kottayam: “Bishop Franco always had an eagle’s eye on the sisters of Missionaries of Jesus congregation and whichever sisters he felt attracted to, he tried to trap them by force or taking advantage of their weakness,” according to a letter written by the survivor nun who was allegedly raped by the bishop.

The nun sent the letter to the apostolic nuncio of Vatican, Giambattista Diquattro, on September 8 which was leaked on Tuesday. Through the letter, she asked the nuncio, who is the representative of Pope Francis, to intervene in the issue urgently.

She alleged that the Church showed double standard in dealing with the issues of the sisters and priests. From her own experience, she felt that the Church is a stepmother to the women and laity. She said that bishop Franco Mulakkal was using his political clout and money power to influence the higher officials in the police and the state government.

Investigation officer DySP K. Subhash had submitted an affidavit before the High Court saying that the bishop had sexually abused her using force and his dominance as the bishop of the Jalandhar diocese. The letter asked the nuncio to conduct a speedy inquiry and remove the bishop. She had previously given a letter to the nuncio through the Bhagalpur bishop Kurian Valiyakandathil on January 28 and he handed it over to the nuncio at the CBCI meet held in Bangalore. However, she received no reply even after waiting for five months and on May 14, she again sent letters to the three offices in Vatican.

The letter explains many of the incidents in which the nuns of the congregation faced negative experiences from the bishop. She had even met Cardinal George Alencherry and told him of the experiences she underwent. She asked him to get an appointment with the nuncio in the context of bishop Franco trying to trap her and her companion in a police case in Jalandhar.

The letter ends by saying that though she had filed a complaint with the police two months ago, no action was taken against the bishop due to his influence. In this context, she was again seeking the intervention of the Church for getting justice, the letter said.