Rape accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal who was granted bail by the Kerala High Court said in a written letter on October 1 to bishops and monsignors of the Catholic Church that he was arrested due to media “pressure” and the protesting “Sisters and their supporters”, reports Financial Express.

The accused Bishop has called jail-time a ‘21 day retreat’. He claimed that he spent his time in prayers, meditation and personal reflection. “It was a time of great blessing and graces”, he was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

The Bishop in the letter says that it is not easy to obtain a bail in these types of cases. He called his bail “something like a miracle.”

He also said that almost a thousand people were waiting to welcome him when he came out of the jail. He also thanked all the bishops, priests and other Church dignitaries who visited and encouraged him through their kind words during his stay in jail.

The Kerala High Court on Monday (15 October) granted conditional bail to Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal.

Mulakkal was arrested on 21 September amid mounting public protests over allegations of raping and repeatedly sexually assaulting a nun between 2014 and 2016 at a convent near Kottayam.