Church warns Kerala priest who organised protests against rape accused bishop
Thiruvananthapuram: A priest in Kerala who organised state-wide protests after the alleged rape of a nun by a Catholic priest was given a warning by the church.
“Save Our Sister”, an organisation of various protesting groups, had organised a protest outside the Secretariat building. Father Augustine Vattoly is the convenor of the organisation.
"I am told that such actions by a priest will seriously injure the good of the Church in public and will cause scandal among the faithful. Therefore, I strongly prohibit you from organizing and attending the said Dharna and similar activities. Disobedience will incur ecclesiastical actions as per norms of Church law," a letter from Major Archepady of Ernakulam-Angamaly said.
#KeralaNunRapeCase: Father Augustine Vattoly, convenor of ‘Save our Sisters’ campaign, was prohibited by church from holding protests on Nov 14 & was warned of ecclesiastical action in case of disobedience. Father Vattoly reportedly coordinated the protest but didn't participate pic.twitter.com/4PC3AxHkQi
— ANI (@ANI) November 22, 2018
The letter was sent to the priest on November 11, three days before the protest outside the state secretariat.
Kerala witnessed massive protests in September demanding the arrest of Bishop Franco Mulakkal.
Franco Mulakkal was accused of repeatedly raping a nun between 2013 and 2016. He was arrested in September and released three weeks later on conditional bail from a prison in Kerala
In June, a nun in her complaint alleged that she was raped by Franco Mulakkal 13 times, during his visits to Kottayam. However, the bishop has denied the charges.
