Kerala nuns gearing up for fresh agitation

Catholic nuns in Kerala are gearing up for a fresh round of agitation in the wake of the alleged vindictive transfer orders issued by the church.

The Save Our Sister action council, which was formed last year to support the stir by the nuns seeking action against the rape accused former bishop of Jalandhar Franco Mulakkal, will be holding a convention at Kottayam district on Saturday. The five nuns of the St Francis Mission Home at Kuravilangad in Kottayam district who are facing punitive actions would be also participating in the convention. Further course of agitation would be chalked out at the convention.

The major demands being raised by the action council are to defrock Franco and to withdraw the punitive actions against the sisters who had been supporting the nun who faced the sexual harassment from the bishop.

Meanwhile, the police are likely to file charge sheet against Franco soon. A case was earlier registered against the Franco invoking various charges including rape and unnatural sex. The nun accused that Franco sexually abused her several times between 2014 and 2016.

Sister Anupama, Alphy, Josephine and Ancitta of the Kottayam convent, who took part in the sit-in in front of Kerala High Court seeking action against the nun, were served transfer orders and sister Neena Rose was issued a notice by the church asking her to appear at Jalandhar and give an explanation to various charges. Another sister, Lucy Kalappura of the Mananthavady diocese in North Kerala district Wayanad, was also issued notices seeking an explanation for various charges, including talking to the media against the church.

The nuns and the action council alleged that the vindictive actions were aimed at sabotaging the case against Franco and they refused to abide by the orders. The nuns and several social and cultural activists even sought the Kerala Government’s intervention to ensure their protection.