Nuns hold placards during a protest demanding justice after an alleged sexual assault of a nun by Bishop Mulakkal. (Vivek Nair/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)The Franciscan Clarist Congregation has issued a final notice to sister Lucy Kalapura, who was involved in a protest against the rape accused former bishop of the Jalandhar diocese, Franco Mulakkal, asking her to leave the congregation or be ousted, reports The Indian Express.
Kalapura belongs to the St Mary’s province of the congregation at Mananthavady. She had been at the receiving end of the wrath of Church authorities after she participated in a street protest by five Catholic nuns in September 2018, demanding criminal action against Mulakkal.
The notice accused her of leading a life which went against “principles of religious life”. Among the accusations against Kalapura are obtaining a license, purchasing a car, obtaining a loan for the same, publishing a book and also, spending money without informing or seeking permission from her superiors.
In the past, the protesting nuns claimed that they were being transferred from the convent as a punishment for speaking out over the rampant sexual abuse in churches. They also claimed that they face a threat from Mulakkal and the Church authorities backing him. They requested Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan multiple times to intervene in the matter and stop their transfer but to no avail.
Kalapura has been told to submit an explanation to the superior general sister at generalate of the congregation by 16 April. The congregation has called the nun’s participation in panel discussions of television channels and authoring articles for non-Christian newspapers a ‘grave scandal’.
Four of the nuns who carried out the protest against Mulakkal have now approached the Superintendent of Police in Kottayam to convey their concern over the delay in filing a chargesheet against the former bishop, reports ANI.
“It’s sad that the church has asked me to leave the congregation. I joined the church when I was 17. I have lived a life following all the principles of religious life,” the nun remarked.
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