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Auxiliary bishop of Delhi 2009-2013; bishop of Jullundur (also known as Jalandhar) 2013-2023. Resigned 6/1/2023 at age 59.
Overview: Accused in 2018 of raping a nun 13 times from 2014 to 2016. Acquitted in 2022; the victim is appealing the verdict. Resigned as bishop of Jullundur in June 2023 at age 59. According to the apostolic nuncio, Mulakkal’s resignation was not a punishment; he resigned “pro bono Ecclesiae” (for the good of the church), and his now bishop emeritus with no canonical restrictions on his ministry.
Background: Accused in a police report filed in late June 2018 of raping a Missionaries of Jesus’ mother superior 13 times from 2014 to 2016. Mulakkal had been the official patron of the nun’s community. He allegedly first raped her on 5/5/2014 at her convent, St. Francis Mission House, in Kuravilangad, Kerala. Beginning in January 2017, she reported the abuse to the church repeatedly, contacting nearly a dozen officials. They included Cardinal George Alencherry, who in November 2017 discouraged her from taking her case to the media or police, according to her family members. She sent letters to the papal nuncio to India, Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro, on 1/28/2018 and 6/25/2018. She also reportedly told Delhi Archbishop Couto in early May 2018 when he visited her order’s house. Yet church authorities took no action until September 2018, following a protest by fellow nuns in support of the victim at Kerala’s High Court. The Vatican finally relieved Mulakkal of his administrative duties on 9/20/2018 [see episcopal conference notice]. He was arrested 9/21/2018, jailed for 25 days, and released on bail 10/15/2018, returning home to hundreds of well-wishers.
On 4/9/2019, Indian police presented Mulakkal with a 2,000-page chargesheet, including statements by more than 80 witnesses. The charges included rape of a woman incapable of giving consent, causing grievous bodily harm during rape, illegal confinement, criminal intimidation, and unnatural intercourse. The trial was supposed to begin on 11/11/2019 but was repeatedly delayed by defense postponements. In February 2020, a second nun publicly accused Mulakkal of sexual misconduct, although she did not file an official complaint; she said Mulakkal had hugged her, kissed her, and made sexually lewd remarks during 2015-2017.
On 8/13/2020, Mulakkal’s trial officially began. On 9/15/2020, the judge approved Mulakkal’s request to bar the media from the trial. The victim began testifying the following day. During the trial, the police submitted a 4,000-page investigation report, including statements from 89 witnesses. In March 2021, the court heard testimony against Mulakkal from several witnesses, including Bishop Kurien Valiakandathil of the diocese of Bhagalpur, in eastern India. Throughout the process, Mulakkal maintained his innocence, saying he has been “the real victim.” Throughout the trial, although his diocese was run by an administrator, he was believed to be still living in the bishop’s house, and he retained the title of bishop of Jullundur.
On 1/14/2022, the Additional District and Sessions Court in Kottayam, Kerala, issued its verdict, acquitting Mulakkal of all charges. [See court ruling.] On 3/31/2022, the victim and the government filed to appeal the verdict.
On 6/1/2023, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had accepted Mulakkal’s resignation as bishop of Jullundur. The announcement was one-sentence long, with no explanation of cause. That same day, however, the apostolic nuncio to India issued a statement saying that Mulakkal was resigning “not as a disciplinary measure imposed upon him, but as pro bono Ecclesiae, especially for the good of the diocese which needs a new bishop.” Mulakkal’s status is now Bishop Emeritus of Jullundur, “which does not imply canonical restrictions on his ministry,” the nuncio stated.