Kerala nun rape case: Bishop Franco Mulakkal denied bail Photo Credit: BCCL Police personnel accompanying rape-accused bishop Franco Mulakkal

Kottayam: Even as the Kerala High Court denied the bail plea of former Bishop of Jalandhar Franco Mulakkal today, the rape-accused bishop continues to be visited by VIP visitors at the Pala sub-jail where he is currently lodged. At the same time when the 44-year-old nun who accused Mulakkal of raping her multiple times over a period of four years is living in absolute isolation at the Kuravilangad convent, the man accused of raping her was visited by several high-profile figures in the last week.

Among those who paid a visit to the bishop were Kanjirappally bishop Mar Mathew Arackal, Pala legislator KM Mani and auxiliary bishops Mar Jose Pulickal and Malankara Samuel Mar Irenios. While Mani's visit to the Pala sub-jail is believed to be politically motivated owing to his political rival MLA PC George's open support for the bishop, a visit by Arackal, bishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Kanjirappally clearly spells the church's ongoing support for Mulakkal.

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It is worth noting that no political or religious stakeholders have bothered to pay a visit to the survivor who in her complaint, accused Mulakkal of raping her as many as 13 times while confining her to a room at a convent in Kerala's Kuravilangad between 2014 and 2016. On Saturday, a parish vicar who visited the Missionaries of Jesus' mission home was accused of trying to influence the nuns who were witnesses to the Bishop's alleged crimes.

However, the most bizarre takeaway from the media attention surrounding the rape accused bishop was Kanjirappally bishop Mar Mathew Arackal’s statement when he equated Franco Mulakkal with Jesus. According to a report by Bangalore Mirror, when asked whether he thinks that the former Bishop of Jalandhar is innocent or not, Arackal asked, “Was Jesus Christ crucified because he was guilty?”

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