Notwithstanding the sound and fury that the nun rape case involving a Catholic bishop generated, the law has prevailed. The accused, Bishop Franco Mulakkal, has not only been arrested, but belying the doubts raised in many quarters, he has been remanded to judicial custody in the Pala sub-jail till October 6. The case has been full of twists and turns, most noted among them being the lack of any haste shown by the state police to question him for a good three months. The reason cited was they were gathering foolproof evidence so that the bishop would have no room to wriggle out, once taken into custody.
While that could be true, nobody can deny that the cops handled the bishop with kid gloves even after the nun from the Jalandhar-based Missionaries of Jesus lodged a complaint of rape and gave her statement under Section 164 of CrPC. But the tide began to turn on September 8 when five nuns staged a public protest condemning police inaction. Pressure started mounting on the state government and even the Church—which was forced to shed its defensive posture—as a couple of priests and believers extended support to the nuns. Finally on September 21, Franco was arrested. The bishop has been charged under various sections of the IPC, mainly 342, 376(2)(K) and 377.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church has not emerged smelling of roses, with the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council saying it rejected the protest demanding the bishop’s arrest and added that the nuns and priests who joined the protest acted against the interests of the Church. After coming down on Sister Lucy for supporting the nuns’ stir, the church was forced by public ire to climb down. Now, everyone is looking to the Vatican for guidance. An embattled Pope Francis once did say that reforming the Vatican was more difficult than cleaning the Sphinx with a toothbrush. Clearly, the Catholic Church in India too could do with some cleansing. And in the case of Bishop Franco, it would do the trick if the Pope uses even a toothpick.