JALANDHAR (INDIA)
The Commune [Tamil Nadu, India]
May 28, 2025
In a deeply unsettling development from Kerala, six nuns of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, who bravely spoke out against former Bishop Franco Mulakkal—later acquitted in a high-profile rape case have faced serious consequences for their stand. Once active members of religious life, they now find themselves ostracised, unsupported by Church administration, and under mounting pressure to leave their convents. Half of them have already stepped away from their religious vocations.
Back in 2018, these six nuns from the Jalandhar Diocese courageously supported a fellow nun who accused Bishop Franco of sexually assaulting her multiple times between 2014 and 2016. Despite filing a police complaint, initial inaction led them to protest publicly, demanding justice. Their actions, however, came at great personal cost.
Although Bishop Franco was arrested and later acquitted by a trial court in 2022—a verdict now under appeal in the Kerala High Court—his accuser and her supporters continue to face social and institutional exclusion. While Pope Francis accepted Franco’s resignation in 2023, the former bishop remains involved in Church-related events outside his previous diocese.
The nuns who stood by the survivor have since been marginalised by their religious community. Stripped of roles and left without support, they were excluded from convent life, with some reduced to taking secular jobs or returning to their families. Among them, Sister Anupama Kelamangalathuveliyil has left the convent and now works in a private IT company. Her story is one of many reflecting a wider pattern of institutional neglect and retaliation.
Sisters Neena Rose and Josephine, who also left the congregation, have likewise faced immense hardship. Sister Neena, in particular, suffered a serious accident and endured extended medical treatment. Financial strain and internal tensions further deepened their struggles, leading to a split among the original group.
The remaining three—Sisters Alphy, Aansita, and the complainant—continue to live in near-isolation within the Kuravilangad convent. Cut off from resources and surrounded by hostility, they are reportedly in a state of extreme vulnerability. Though police protection is still formally in place, their daily lives are marked by silence and scarcity.
Previously, the convent ran a hostel and farm operations, with all earnings sent to the Jalandhar Diocese, which in return was responsible for their upkeep. But after the hostel closed, the sisters turned to small-scale farming and poultry for survival. Even these modest efforts were used to target them, with accusations of “running a business” made to discredit them.
Sister Lucy Kalapura, a prominent voice in the protests, confirmed that those who challenged the Church’s silence were met with relentless exclusion. From being removed from responsibilities and banned from communal spaces, to being forced to eat separately, their treatment reflected deep-rooted institutional hostility.
The convent leadership eventually vacated the premises—owned by the diocese—taking everything from animals to the nameplate. Elderly residents were shifted, and access to basic support such as food and medicine was withdrawn. Despite vague promises of assistance, the nuns were repeatedly told to leave.
Left with no alternative, the women turned to basic self-employment like tailoring and farming, but were again criticised for doing so. Having spent decades in service to the Church, they were abandoned when they needed support most. The diocesan administrator even went as far as to publicly declare Bishop Franco “not guilty.”
This saga is not just about a legal battle—it is about systemic silencing, power imbalance, and the cost of standing up for truth within religious institutions.
(With inputs from South First)