Faridabad Archbishop Kuriakose Bharanikulangara
A senior Catholic priest on Tuesday backed the recent protests by nuns in Kerala against a rape-accused bishop, Franco Mulakkal, and apologised to followers for the alleged conduct of Mulakkal, among other “storm” that has hit the Catholic Church in many parts of the world.
Addressing a convention attended by several hundred people, Faridabad Archbishop Kuriakose Bharanikulangara said, “I apologise publicly for the scandals in the Church.”
On Mulakkal’s arrest, Bharanikulangara said, “If any of you are disappointed by the events, then I apologise…. The foundation of our faith is (has been) shaken, and the credibility of our structure is questioned. The case against Father Francis shook faith (of many), and I say these things not to blame anybody or to claim anything.”
The priest, who was addressing the Santhom Bible Convention at Thyagaraj Sports Complex in Delhi, then spoke in support of the protests undertaken by several nuns in Kochi: “Protest for justice and truth is the intrinsic character of our congregation. But when our sisters protested, a certain section said some venomous things (about them). Our believers must be offered the right to protest —- that is what I want to remind you on this occasion.”
He said, “We stand in the land of Gandhi, who launched the Satyagrah.”
Beginning his address by speaking about the recent Kerala floods, Bharanikulangara said, “So many houses were swept away, (were) flooded – and people, without seeing each other’s caste, creed and religion, came together. In every crises, we must not be overcome by grief and rise like the Phoenix.”
Bharanikulangara also spoke about other forms of “storm” that affected the Catholic Church elsewhere. He took the examples of the mass resignation of bishops in Chile after they were accused of negligence by the Pope for allegedly not investigating allegations of abuse, the resignation of an American prelate over allegations of sexual abuse, and the release of a sexual abuse report by the German Bishops’ Conference. “This is just like a storm for the Christian community,” he said.