INDIA
Hindustan Times
Mar 02, 2017
Ramesh Babu
Hindustan Times, Thiruvananthapuram
A string of sexual assault allegations involving clergymen is turning out to be a major embarrassment for the Catholic Church in Kerala. What is more worrying is that such incidents are popping up even after Pope Francis’s call to enforce “zero tolerance” towards sexual crimes.
The latest in the series is the rape of a 16-year-old girl allegedly by a 48-year-old priest who was active in social circles in north Kerala. The incident came to light two weeks after the victim gave birth to a baby. Shockingly, there was a systemic attempt to cover up the whole incident and bail out the priest involved in the crime.
Many in the church now want a strict code of conduct for priest and nuns. And reformists blame insiders for the rot and say they are planning to send a letter to the Vatican City, seeking stringent steps to rein in what they call “wayward priests”.
“Once a crime is committed, the first reaction is an attempt to cover it up. This emboldens others also to commit the same crime,” said a spokesman of Catholic Laymen’s Association.
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