No government, church or police to support us: Kerala nuns

Kottayam (Kerala) Sep 8 : A group of Catholic nuns on Saturday gave vent to their ire against the Kerala government, Church and the police, saying no one is there to support the case of their fellow nun who was allegedly sexually abused by Bishop Franco Mulakkal, of the Roman Catholic Diocese in Punjab.

Their remarks came just before they left their convent near here to take part in an indefinite fast programme organised by the Joint Christian Council at Kochi to put pressure on the Kerala's Left government to act against the bishop.

"We now know that we have no government, no church and no police and hence we are forced to take part in the protest and we are forced to speak to the media. We strongly support the nun who came out against the bishop... There is no action against the bishop even after 74 days of her raising the complaint," the aggrieved nuns told the media.

The nun had alleged in June that Mulakkal sexually abused her several times at a convent in Kuruvalangadu near Kottayam in Kerala between 2014 and 2016.

An FIR was registered against the bishop and a 114-page statement of the nun and other inmates of the convent taken.

Although Mulakkal has denied any wrongdoing, a team of Kerala Police officials last month visited the bishop's house at Jalandhar and questioned him, Father Antony and Jalandhar Diocese Chief Public Relations Officer Father Peter.

Coming in support of the nuns' cause, former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan in a statement on Saturday said that the nuns are forced to protest in the absence of any help from any the authorities concerned.

Meanwhile, all eyes are now on the controversial bishop to see whether Mulakkal travels to Vatican early next month to take part in the bishops' conference.