BISHOP FRANCO MULAKKAL, WHO WAS ACCUSED OF RAPING A NUN IN KERALA, WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY.
A
court in Thiruvananthapuram today acquitted Bishop Franco Mulakkal, a former
priest accused of raping a nun many times over two years in a case that drew
widespread indignation and protests in Kerala.
Franco
Mulakkal, 57, was the first Catholic bishop in India to face rape charges based
on a nun's accusation. The additional sessions court issued a single line
verdict declaring him not guilty of the allegations after a more than 100-day
trial.
After
the verdict, he was seen smiling as he left the court in Kottayam.
Bishop
Franco was accused by a nun from the Missionaries of Jesus community in the
Jalandhar diocese of raping her repeatedly between 2014 and 2016 while he was
the leader of the Missionaries of Jesus order. The claims were disputed by him.
Nuns staged unprecedented street protests in response to the charges, demanding action from the church, police, and the Kerala government.
After five nuns protested outside the High Court, the police launched an investigation. The nuns also wrote to the Vatican, requesting help. Within the church, the nuns were heavily chastised, and they were subjected to a barrage of threats and accusations.
In
September 2018, the Bishop was arrested and charged by a Special Investigation
Team that had been investigating the claims.
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