The Catholic Church traces its origins to that day, approximately 2,000 years ago, when Jesus appointed a leader among his Apostles with these words cited in the Bible, “Simon, you are Peter (meaning, rock), and upon this rock I shall build my Church.”

You would expect a two-millennia-old organisation to have its act together in the area of legal procedures and communication. Yet, since news broke in end-June of a nun’s rape allegation against the (now arrested) Bishop of Jalandhar, Franco Mulakkal, the Catholic Church in India has appeared to be a floundering, leaderless mess, falling short of basic humanity in its response to a woman’s grave grievance.