Am not going to move out: 'Ousted' Kerala Catholic Nun

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Catholic nun who was dismissed from her congregation said on Monday that she was not heard by the Vatican and she will not move out from the convent where she is presently staying in Wayanad, Kerala.

It was in August 2019, the Franciscan Clarist Congregation (FCC) after getting the clearance from the Vatican dismissed Sister Lucy Kalapurakkal from the church at Manathavady in Kerala for disobeying church authorities. Sister Kalapurakkal had last year supported the nuns' strike in the state demanding the arrest of rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who headed the Roman Catholic Diocese in Jalandhar.

But even though she was asked to move out from the convent then, she got an order from a court that she should not be forced out and has been staying there since then. Speaking to the media on Monday she said it was two days back that she received a letter from her higher ups that her appeal to the Vatican was dismissed.

"How is it possible when the letter that I was given was dated May 27, 2020. I was not even heard by the Vatican, which is a denial of natural justice. I have been asked to move out from the Convent where I am staying in a week's time. I am not going to move out," said Sister Kalapurakkal.

Trouble started for her, when a nun had filed an FIR accusing Mulakkal of having raped her at Kerala's Kuravilangad church between 2014 and 2016. Mulakkal was arrested in September following the protest and is currently out on bail.

However, Sister Kalapurakkal became a target of the Church authorities after she joined the nuns protest against the delay in Mulakkal's arrest despite the FIR against him. Since then she had been receiving notices from the church on flimsy charges such as airing her opinion about the bishop on TV channels, owning a car and writing a book.

Incidentally, the Kerala High Court, in December 2019 declined to ban the nun's autobiography titled "Karthavinte Namethil (In the name of Christ)" and later it was released. (IANS)

Also Read: Ex-nun alleges she became pregnant after sexual assault by Karmapa Lama

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