The Catholic Church in Kerala has sent a warning to Sister Lucy Kalapura, a nun who was at the forefront of protests against rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal, for “attending channel discussions”, writing articles in “non-Christian newspapers” and “making false accusations” against the Catholic leadership.
The Catholic Church in Kerala has sent a warning to Sister Lucy Kalapura, a nun who was at the forefront of protests against rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal, for “attending channel discussions”, writing articles in “non-Christian newspapers” and “making false accusations” against the Catholic leadership.
The warning, with the threat of dismissal from the congregation, has been issued by Sr. Ann Joseph FCC, Superior General of the Franciscan Clarist Congregation (FCC).
Mulakkal was accused of raping a nun belonging to the order of Missionaries of Jesus several times between 2014 and 2016, and spent three weeks in the sub-jail at Pala before he got bail. Kalapura and some other nuns of the order had staged a hunger strike near the High Court premises in Kochi for weeks last year demanding Mulakkal’s arrest.
The letter to Sr Kalapura, accessed by The Indian Express, read, “Your deeds on 20th September 2018 and on the following days were of most grave external scandal and harm to the Church and the FCC. You went to the Ernakulam High Court junction and participated in the protest held by the SOS Action Council on 20-9-2018 without the permission of your superior. You have published articles in some non-Christian newspapers and weeklies like Mangalam and Madhyamam etc, gave interviews to Samayam without seeking permission from the provincial superior. Through Facebook, channel discussions and articles you belittled the Catholic leadership by making false accusations and tried to bring down the sacraments. You tried to defame FCC also. Your performance through social media as a religious sister was culpable arising grave scandal.”
Kalapura told The Indian Express, “I don’t think my acts, as mentioned by the Catholic Church in it’s notice, are wrong. If I’d known they were wrong, I would have never committed them. I have no clarification to give regarding that matter. There’s no doubt that this is an act of revenge.”
The warning, with the threat of dismissal from the congregation, has been issued by Sr. Ann Joseph FCC, Superior General of the Franciscan Clarist Congregation (FCC).
Mulakkal was accused of raping a nun belonging to the order of Missionaries of Jesus several times between 2014 and 2016, and spent three weeks in the sub-jail at Pala before he got bail. Kalapura and some other nuns of the order had staged a hunger strike near the High Court premises in Kochi for weeks last year demanding Mulakkal’s arrest.
The letter to Sr Kalapura, accessed by The Indian Express, read, “Your deeds on 20th September 2018 and on the following days were of most grave external scandal and harm to the Church and the FCC. You went to the Ernakulam High Court junction and participated in the protest held by the SOS Action Council on 20-9-2018 without the permission of your superior. You have published articles in some non-Christian newspapers and weeklies like Mangalam and Madhyamam etc, gave interviews to Samayam without seeking permission from the provincial superior. Through Facebook, channel discussions and articles you belittled the Catholic leadership by making false accusations and tried to bring down the sacraments. You tried to defame FCC also. Your performance through social media as a religious sister was culpable arising grave scandal.”
Kalapura told The Indian Express, “I don’t think my acts, as mentioned by the Catholic Church in it’s notice, are wrong. If I’d known they were wrong, I would have never committed them. I have no clarification to give regarding that matter. There’s no doubt that this is an act of revenge.”