There has been no huge protest or a genuine demand by any of the political parties for justice, in an otherwise politically vibrant state. The CPI (M), needless to say, has not taken any proactive stand in criticising its government.
And as usual, the only voice that has stood out is that of veteran CPI (M) leader VS Achuthanandan, who said that the pressure the survivor is going through is huge, as the influential Bishop is flying free above all investigation systems for the past two months.
So how powerful is Bishop Franco Mulakkal?
“He is powerful, by all means, he is powerful as a Bishop, and as a person who has accumulated assets worth crores,” the nuns had told TNM when we met them at the protest venue in Kochi. And the nuns’ statement don’t come as a surprise, given the guarded reaction – or no reaction – from other Christian congregations or other religious institutions in the state as well.
“One thing is vote bank politics, and the second thing is the money power of the Bishop,” the complainant nun’s brother tells TNM. “We have the support of our parish, the media and a section of people. The only political support we have is from the AIYF. The BJP won’t come out against this because they have an eye on the vote bank of Christians,” he adds.
Shine Geevarghese, of the Save Archdiocesan Movement for Transparency (SAMT), says, “At this point, we can’t say that it is because of vote bank politics, for believers no longer cast votes as directed by the Church, as evident from the previous two-three elections. There could be other connections between the parties and the Bishop – financial or otherwise. But the feeling we get is that the political parties won’t be there for the common man.”
SAMT exposed the irregularities in the land deal by Syro-Malabar Catholic Church by its head Cardinal Mar George Alencherry.
Read: ‘Cardinal is not king’: Kerala HC orders case against head of Syro-Malabar church
“When there were sexual harassment complaint against Congress MLA M Vincent, the government was keen to arrest him as he is an opposition MLA. Similar was the enthusiasm of the opposition on a complaint of the same nature against PK Sasi, MLA of the CPI (M). But the Bishop is getting a shield which no one else got,” Shine says.
The case
A 44-year-old Catholic nun from the Missionaries of Jesus in Kerala has accused Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal of raping her multiple times between 2014 and 2016. She approached the Kerala police in June this year when the Catholic Church failed to take any action on her complaint. The Bishop was then booked under Section 376 of the IPC (punishment for rape). Sisters of the Missionaries of Jesus in Kottayam – Anupama, Alphy, Josephine, Neena Rose and Anaitha – have been protesting demanding the arrest of the Bishop for the past ten days.