Kerala Nun Rape Case: Sister Lucy dismissed from church for protesting against accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal

Jalandar diocese Bishop Franco Mulakkal rape case in September 2018 shocked the entire country and raised a lot of question after the church bodies started supporting the accused Bishop. Franco Mulakkal, not only accused the victim nun and he went on to intimidate the companion nuns who stood with the victim nun and protested at the High Court junction for almost 2 weeks.

It is going to be almost a year and the trail in the case hasn't begun yet even after the police has filed a charge sheet against Bishop Franco Mulakkal. While this is the case, the victim nuns, along with other nuns are facing intimidation in many ways in an attempt to sabotage the case.

Many nuns from the congregations also expressed their support to the nuns who protested, seeking justice in the case. One such nun was sister Lucy Kalapura from Franciscan Clarist congregation, an Ernakulam-based church body which was dismissed by the congregation for actively supporting the victim nun in the Franco Mulakkal case. Sister Lucy Kalapura participated in the protest which happened on September 2018 and also wrote in a number of magazines and journals about this issue. She actively participated in the TV debates on behalf of the victim nuns also. 

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In the light of these events, the congregation had written two warning letters to sister Lucy, also seeking also her explanation in the matter. The mother superior of the FCC alleged that sister Lucy was indulging in the anti-religious activities by writing in non-Christian magazines and participating in TV debates which are against the rules of the church.

After two warnings, the mother superior of the congregation sent a dismissal letter to sister Lucy Kalapura alleging that she did not respond to the earlier letters and was going out of the church lines, which she called intolerable. Mother Superior dismissed sister Lucy from the congregation after getting the nod from the apostolic in New Delhi and from the representatives of the Pope from the Vatican city.

The dismissal letter has also mentioned that sister Lucy Kalapura is been relieved from her religious duties and should vacate the congregation in 10 days of time. It further added she can send an explanation to the cardinal in New Delhi or directly to the Vatican if she wishes to. Meanwhile, sister Lucy has not taken any decision on how to respond to the letter.

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