A bishop acquitted of raping a nun has resigned as chief of the Catholic diocese in an Indian metropolis
FILE- Bishop Franco Mulakkal greets the media as he leaves a courtroom in Kottayam, India, Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. The bishop acquitted of raping a nun resigned as chief of the Catholic diocese in an Indian metropolis on Thursday. Pope Francis accepted the resignation of 59-year-old Mulakkal, who was bishop of the Jalandhar Diocese within the northern state of Punjab. (AP Picture/File)
The Related Press
NEW DELHI — A bishop acquitted of raping a nun resigned as chief of the Catholic diocese in an Indian metropolis on Thursday.
Pope Francis accepted the resignation of 59-year-old Franco Mulakkal, who was bishop of the Jalandhar Diocese within the northern state of Punjab.
The Vatican didn’t present a cause for the resignation or why Francis accepted it. The conventional retirement age for bishops is 75.
The nun accused Mulakkal of raping her a number of occasions throughout his visits to her convent in Kuravilangad in Kerala state, in a case that turned a significant difficulty amid allegations of sexual abuse within the church.
Police charged Mulakkal with rape, unlawful confinement and intimidation of the nun. A gaggle of fellow nuns launched unprecedented public protests demanding Mulakkal’s arrest in 2018. He was detained and shortly launched on bail.
A courtroom acquitted Mulakkal in January final 12 months. The nun has appealed the decision to Kerala’s Excessive Courtroom.
Mulakkal was the official patron of the nun’s group, the Missionaries of Jesus, and had affect over its budgets and job assignments.