Society | The things we do in the name of the lord

Representative Image

Christianity in India is yet again in the thick of another scandal as a nun who accused a bishop and other clergy of sexual harassment, including rape, is publishing her memoir. Excerpts of this have appeared in the media and this has generated much debate, putting forth a lot of uncomfortable questions — all which we as a society must demand answers for.

The autobiography of Sister Lucy Kalapura, the nun who dared to take on the Catholic Church and paid a price for it by being expelled, is ‘Karthavinte Namathil’ (In The Name Of The Lord).

Lucy has laid bare the dark underbelly of the Catholic Church in India by throwing light on the sexual deviancies prevalent among the clergy, and by punching holes in many administrative practices in the church machinery that perpetuates the stranglehold of priests over nuns.

The unfortunate part is that this is not the first time such allegations, and that too by someone from within the fold, are being made. In 2009, another nun who was later expelled, Sister Jesme, published her autobiography, Amen, which threw light on many things Lucy talks about. This immediately poses the question: What has been done, either by the Catholic Church or the government, to ensure that such crimes are not repeated? Precious little.

Lucy’s acts of ‘deviation’ included learning how to drive car and buying a car without the approval of her superiors. However, what seems to have intensified scrutiny against her was Lucy’s support to the nuns from the Missionaries of Jesus Congregation seeking the arrest of former Bishop of Jalandhar Franco Mulakkal for sexual harassment.

Lucy, who was ousted from the Franciscan Clarist Congregation in August, has now sought a direct audience with Pope Francis. The Vatican has allowed her to take recourse to the Supreme Tribunal of the Signatura Apostolica, which could give her an opportunity to be physically present in front of the tribunal and, if possible, before Pope Francis.

Speaking exclusively to this author, Lucy said about her chances of getting justice from the Holy See: “I do not really expect much. It has been almost 50 days since I filed my second and final appeal against my expulsion. So far, the tribunal has not made any attempt whatsoever to seek my version….”

“…[I] have a good reason to believe this matter has so far not reached the Holy Father….I only need one audience with the Pope to set things right and see that justice prevails,” Lucy said.

Whether or not Lucy gets justice from Vatican, the focus will also be on the proceedings in a court in Kottayam, in Kerala, where the trail against the rape-accused former bishop Mulakkal began on November 30. It is important that we follow these developments because these are clear cases of harassment — and there are no two ways about it.

It is to be noted that in India rape laws have tightened and the laws against workplace harassment have never been more stringent. Yet complaints about sexual harassment from the church clergy continues unabated. Even in Lucy’s case, as is in the many other complaints against priests, it boils down to workplace harassment.

To put things in a different manner: If the Catholic Church is seen as a big corporate conglomerate, and the clergy as its employees, rather than taking action against the accused, the organisation has acted against the victim.

The behemoth called the Catholic Church is yet to emerge a leader in areas that the corporate world celebrates these days — transparency, gender equality, and, of course, ushering in a flat governance structure where the lay employee has direct reach to the CEO. Be that as it may, there can be no compromise on respect for women at the workplace.

Clearly, the CEO of the Catholic Church would not want to fall short on the high corporate governance standards set by the business community. If direct access to the Pope is restricted by a Leviathan system led by a bunch of cardinals, then it is time to fix it, in the name of the lord — Karthavinte Namathil.

Vinod Mathew is a senior journalist based in Kochi. Views are personal.