'Being pressured to change statement against rape accused Bishop Franco': Sister Lissy

Sister Lissy Vadakkel is one of the prime witnesses in the case, where a Kerala nun was allegedly raped multiple times by Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal.

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Sister Lissy Vadakkel, who has been ostracised and faced disciplinary action by the Franciscan Clarist Congregation (FCC) for speaking up against rape accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal, is now under pressure to change the statement she gave against him.

Sister Lissy is one of the prime witnesses in the case, where a Kerala nun was allegedly raped multiple times by Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal. Talking to TNM, Sister Lissy tells that she is being pressured by superiors to change the statement she gave against Franco Mulakkal.

In the latest update on the case, the pretrial proceedings, including framing of charges of the accused, has been adjourned till January 6. It is in this backdrop that Sister Lissy is now being forced by the higher-ups to give statement supporting Franco Mulakkal in court.

"I feel greatly insecure. The Bishop's bail was recently extended by the court. The pretrial arguments in the case have been adjourned to later this week. There is a whole lot of procedures before witnesses will be examined by the court. This is going to be a long procedure. I am staying here at the convent as if under house arrest and there is constant pressure on me from higher-ups to back off from my statements," says Sister Lissy.

Sister Lissy is one of the few persons to whom the survivor nun had disclosed about the sexual abuse she had been facing allegedly from Franco Mulakkal. Following Sister Lissy's statement to the police, she was ostracised by the congregation, who even asked her to leave Kerala and join a convent in Vijayawada. She even came out allegedly stating that she was denied money to buy medicine.

"I live here like a prisoner. I am just a witness, like many others who are in the case. But I am ostracised here and kept away from doing the things that other members of the congregation are engaged in. Only when the case ends, will I be able to continue what I was doing all this while before the case," she says.