Church not to fund rape accused Bishops case

The Church has decided against funding the cost of litigation in the case of rape accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal of the Jalandhar Diocese.

Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who is accused of raping a Kerala nun 13 times between 2014 and 2016, had found the support of the Diocese that has been backing him amid outrage from various quarters. It has now come to light that the Diocese even paid for the Bishop’s initial airfare to Kerala after the case came to light.

The new administrator of Jalandhar Diocese, Bishop Agnelo Rufino Gracias, said the cost would be borne by the Bishop or his family in Kerala. Angelo maintained that the Bishop’s family back home is Kerala is ‘well off’, besides the church has not received any request from them in this regard. Bishop Angelo also said there has also been no request before the Church for funding the case filed by the complainant victim nun. Bishop's brother Phillip Mulakkal is a businessman in Kerala and it is believed that he has been funding the expenses in the case against his accused brother.

The new administrator of the Jalandhar Diocese is also likely to examine and put to effect certain changes in the administrative structure in the wake of ‘dissent’ brewing against the current dispensation, said sources. While the rape accused Bishop is out on bail, a key witness in the case, Father Kuriakose, who deposed against the Bishop was found suspiciously dead in his room in the church a few weeks ago. The police are probing the death after they registered a case. The Bishop has denied any role in the death of Father Kuriakose.