Another Kerala Nun Accuses Bishop Franco of Harassment, Sexting

A day before Kerala's rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal's discharge petition is to be heard, the statement of a nun - one of the witnesses against him - has been leaked. The nun, the 14th witness in the case, has alleged that Franco Mulakkal made sexually coloured remarks on phone calls, messages and video calls and that she was inappropriately touched by him. The nun, in the statement, also states that she was scared of the Bishop and of being thrown out from the congregation.

This 35-year-old nun, in her statement on September 19, 2018, had told the police, "I met Bishop Franco Mulakkal for the first time in 2015 in Bihar... I called the Bishop on phone several times for different needs of the convent... We started eventually speaking regularly. From 2015 to 2017 we made calls, we chatted on WhatsApp and made video calls. I initially started calling on behalf of a friend. But from 2015 end, Bishop started talking to be with sexual overtones. That made me feel disgusting, averse and cause mental agony."

"But Bishop continued with sexual remarks...and started making video calls with description about his and my body parts... Because he was the Bishop of diocese, I could not tell anything against it. Even though I was not interested in sex chatting, due to fear of the Bishop's displeasure and being ousted from the church, I did not object..." the statement adds.