A nun has accused a bishop of repeated rape, galvanising week-long street protests by other nuns and supporters in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

The nun, who is in her forties, accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal, 53, of raping her 13 times between 2014 and 2016.



Bishop Mulakkal had stepped down from his position after the police summoned him for questioning, dpa reported yesterday. He has denied wrongdoing and said earlier that he would accept the death penalty if the rape accusation is proven.



The Missionaries of Jesus, a Catholic organisation he heads, has hit back, accusing the protesting nuns of whipping up a “conspiracy”.

The nuns’ protests coincide with Pope Francis’s acknowledgment this week of failings in addressing sex abuse scandals, as he tries to scrub the image of the Catholic Church - notably in the US, where sexual misconduct cases have rocked the Church.



On Tuesday, the nun who ignited the street protests released a seven-page letter to the Vatican demanding action against the bishop, who allegedly raped her in his room at a convent in the town of Kuravilangad.



“I feel this kind of silence on the part of the church authorities and protection of those who commit the crime may create a situation where the church loses its credibility before society,” she wrote, according to Hindustan Times.

