Franco Mulakkal, who was booked in a case involving the rape of a nun in Kerala back in 2018, has reportedly resigned as the Jalandhar bishop. He confirmed that Pope Francis has accepted his resignation on Thursday. He was cleared of all charges in the rape case by the Additional District and Sessions Court I, Kottayam last year.
The Vatican allegedly sought his resignation not as a punitive action against him but rather for the sake of the Jalandhar diocese, which requires a new bishop. According to a release by the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See to India, the representative body of the Vatican in India, Mulakkal’s resignation was a ‘pro bono Ecclesiae’, especially for the good of the diocese which needs a new bishop.
He will now serve as Bishop Emeritus (retired) of Jalandhar. He is between 57 to 59-years-old and traditionally, Bishops usually step down when they turn 75.
Franco Mulakkal’s current status as Bishop Emeritus of Jalandhar apparently does not mean that he has canonical limitations on his ministry. He had his first encounter with the Pope on February 8 of this year after being exonerated in the rape case by the local Kerala court. During this meeting, he had informed the Pope about his decision to resign from the post.
After he was questioned by the Kerala police on charges of rape made by a nun, Pope Francis temporarily suspended the bishop of his duties for the diocese in September 2018.
He was not granted any new duties in the church notwithstanding his acquittal. However, the Vatican had previously acknowledged the court’s judgement clearing him of all allegations.
He thanked everyone who helped him through a difficult time in his life as he announced his resignation in a video message. “I resigned from the post for the sake of the Jalandhar diocese and appointment of a new bishop,” he claimed.
The Kerala nun rape case
A Kerala nun accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal of raping her repeatedly while visiting her convent in Kottayam between 2014 and 2016 and launched a lawsuit against him in 2018. She is a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, a congregation under the diocese.
He was then taken into custody and placed under arrest. Pope Francis also temporarily stripped him of his duties in the diocese during this time.
He was cleared of all counts of sexual assault in January 2022, by the Additional District and Sessions Court in Kottayam, Kerala. However, he received no further duties inside the church. The victim and the Kerala government have filed appeals with the Kerala High Court against the trial court order absolving him of all charges. The High Court admitted the appeal in April 2022.
His charge sheet had 84 eyewitness statements including priests, bishops and nuns. In 2018 five nuns even sat on a hunger strike and accused that Franco Mulakkal who is a very powerful figure in the clergy was being protected.
Furthermore, a nun who testified in the trial revealed in 2020 that he hugged her and forcibly kissed her on the forehead at the convent in April 2017.
