Catholic bishop acquitted of raping nun in India
An Indian court acquitted a Roman Catholic bishop of charges of raping a nun in her rural convent, a case that became a major issue amid allegations of sexual harassment in the church.
Sessions Judge G Gopakumar in a brief order said on Friday the bishop was not guilty of charges that he repeatedly raped the nun between 2014 and 2016.
Police charged Mulakkal with rape, illegal confinement and intimidation of the nun. She said she went to police only after complaining repeatedly to church authorities. Eventually, a group of fellow nuns launched unprecedented public protests to demand Mulakkal’s arrest in 2018. He was detained but released on bail after a few weeks. The nuns had also written to the Vatican, asking it to intervene in the matter. Their agitation made national headlines and split the tiny Christian minority in Hindu-majority India, where they make up 2.3 percent of the population according to census figures.
Virginia Saldanha, former executive secretary of the Commission for Women of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, said she was shocked by the verdict.
“My first thought was that misogyny in the church has won. The verdict reinforces the idea that a powerful man can’t be brought to justice,” she said.
Bishop Franco Mulakkal was present in the court in Kottayam, a southern Indian city. Supporters cheered and chanted “Praise the Lord” as he left the court.
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