Bishop Franco rape case: Don’t have money, resources to provide security to victim, says Missionaries of Jesus

The order of Missionaries of Jesus of the Catholic Church wrote a letter to police authorities last month stating that it did not have the financial strength or resources to continue providing protection to the nun who was allegedly being raped by Franco Mulakkal, the bishop of the Jalandhar diocese of the church.

The letter from the Mother Superior General of the order comes in response to an official communication from the police asking for specific security arrangements at a convent home in Kerala which currently houses the rape victim and her colleagues who are involved in a fight for justice in the case. Mulakkal, who’s out on bail in the case after being lodged in jail for three weeks, is accused of subjecting the nun to unnatural sex and rape for three years between 2014-16. He has denied all charges.

In view of the safety and security of the victim and her colleagues, who are prime witnesses in the case, the local police had asked the Missionaries of Jesus to ensure protection to them. Among a slew of measures recommended by the police include repairing existing CCTV cameras, installing night vision cameras, proper lighting on the road leading to the convent and independent cooks for the victim and her colleagues.

But in her response, the Mother Superior General has claimed that such arrangements will affect the day-to-day activities of the inmates at the convent. She also said the order doesn’t have the financial resources to implement such security measures. She recommended that the victim-nun and her colleagues should rather be shifted to a government-run facility. The police have now written a letter to the victim, asking for her opinion on the matter.

Sources within the church say this is the order’s attempt to push the victim and her close supporters out of the convent. A section of the inmates at the convent in Kerala are said to be supportive of the rape-accused bishop.