CAMBRIDGE (MA)
Scroll.in
July 17, 2018
By TA Ameerudheen
[See also the Guidelines discussed in this article.]
The Church’s ‘sexual harassment at the workplace’ guidelines issued in September have led to calls for more clarity, awareness.
In the wake of a Catholic nun levelling charges of rape against a bishop last month, various Catholic organisations have accused the Church of failing to ensure justice for victims of sexual abuse. This despite the Church having framed a document titled “Guidelines to deal with sexual harassment at the workplace” in 2017, they say.
On June 27, the nun filed a police complaint accusing the head of the Jalandhar diocese, Bishop Franco Mulakkal, of raping her 13 times between 2014 and 2016. A member of the Jalandhar-based Missionaries of Jesus congregation, the nun claimed the bishop had raped her at a convent in Kuravilangadu, Kerala, where she was stationed. She also said she had no choice but to go to the police after Church authorities ignored her complaints and took no action against the priest. Denying the charges, Mulakkal has accused the nun of taking revenge on him for ordering an inquiry into a complaint that she was having an affair.
The Catholic Church was rocked by a similar controversy in February 2017 when a priest, Mathew Vadakkancheril, from Kannur in Kerala was arrested for raping and impregnating a 16-year-old girl, who later gave birth to a child. The priest is facing trial under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. Two nuns were also arrested for allegedly trying to hush up the matter even as the victim’s father accused Church authorities of forcing him to confess to the crime to shield the priest.
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