Missionaries Of Jesus, the Jalandhar-based congregation which has been in the middle of the controversy involving Franco Mulakkal, who is accused of raping a nun has once again come out in support of the Bishop.
The convent which the victim nun belongs to has concluded that there was no rape and the Bishop was innocent.
The Missionaries Of Jesus which set up an internal probe commission said that the victim along with 9 others, including 5 nuns, conspired against the Jalandhar Bishop and framed him with wrongful intent.
The shocking slander doesn't end there. The so-called findings of the inquiry further go on to allege that the victim¡¯s friend was handling the visitors¡¯ register and they tampered with it, adding that the victim took control of the CCTV from Mother Superior.
The commission also goes on to claim that? contrary to the claim of the nun, the Bishop didn¡¯t stay in Kuravilangad convent on May 5, 2014 when she was allegedly raped.
ANI
What is even more shocking is a blatant violation of law by the Missionaries Of Jesus in an attempt to cover up the rape allegation.
The congregation has revealed the identity of the nun who has made the complaint against the bishop, which is a clear violation of the Supreme Court directions which states that the identity of the rape survivor cannot be revealed.?
Along with the press statement, the congregation has released the picture of the nun seated near the Bishop.
BCCL
According to Missionaries of Jesus, the photograph was taken a day after the first incident of alleged rape took place. And according to them, the fact that the nun can be seen sitting in the company of the bishop was proof that she had not been sexually assaulted the previous day.
¡°The Missionaries of Jesus has understood that the allegations about the Bishop repeatedly raping the nun multiple times between 2014 and 2016 is false and is part of a conspiracy. In the month of May in 2015, the sister had invited the Bishop for a function and even after that, it has been found that the sister has taken part in a lot of functions with the Bishop. Any woman, who was raped by a man, would never attend functions or travel with that man. This is a truth that cannot be denied,¡± the statement said.
This is not the first time the MJ Congregation has tried to defend Mulakkal and question the character of the victim, who is a member of their own congregation.
Earlier they had claimed that the 44-year-old nun was having an affair with a married man.
They had also gone after the five nuns who are currently protesting in Kochi demanding the arrest of Mulakkal accusing them of siding with anti-church forces and rationalists. Accusing them of involving in a conspiracy against the bishop and the convent, the Congregation had also questioned the source of funding for the protesting nuns.
BCCL
Meanwhile, the Kerala Police which had registered a case some 80 days ago against the bishop is still dragging their feet when it comes to arresting him. He has reportedly been served a notice, asking him to appear for questioning on 19th of this month.
The Bishop who had been initially avoiding the media has in the past couple of days appeared on almost all leading channels claiming his innocence.
According to the complaint by the nun, she was subjected to rape by the bishop 13 times between 2014 and 2016.