The authorities of St. Mary’s Province of the Franciscan Clarist Congregation (FCC) are adopting stern steps against Sister Lucy Kalappura, who had raised her voice against Franco Mulakkal, a bishop accused of sexually assaulting a nun. The congregation intends to expel her from its convent at Karakkamala, near Vellamunda, in the district.
Jyothi Mariya, Provincial of the FCC, said in a release on Thursday that Sister Lucy, who had already been dismissed from the congregation, was staying at the convent without the permission of the authorities. The convent authorities had been considering her as a trespasser since her dismissal, the Provincial said.
The press release was issued in the wake of a mass petition submitted by the parishioners of the Karakkamala church on June 9 demanding that Sister Lucy be expelled from the convent after she had made some allegations against the convent, the Provincial said.
The authorities were suffering because of the blatant lies, false accusations and actions by Sister Lucy, she said in the release. The parish priest of Karakkamala and the Mother Superior of FCC convent, Karakkamala, had already initiated legal steps against Sister Lucy, she added.
Her response
However, Sister Lucy told The Hindu that the convent authorities had been trying to expel her from the convent for many months for raising her voice against injustice.
“I had appealed thrice to the higher church authorities in Vatican but all were rejected, including an appeal to the Supreme Tribunal of the Segnatura Apostolica a few months ago,” Sister Lucy said.
“As I was repeatedly being denied justice by the Church, I approached a court at Mananthavady,” Sister Lucy said. “I will not leave the convent as I have spent nearly 38 years with the congregation. I trust the judicial system of the country,” Sister Lucy said, adding that she was waiting for the final decree of the court.