Franco Mulakkal

Franco Mulakkal[1][2][3][4][5][6] is an Indian prelate of the Catholic Church. He serves as the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar since 2013.[7][8][9] He is the first bishop in Indian Catholic history to be arrested for being accused in a rape case. He has been charged for raping the nun and have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Franco Mulakkal
Ex-Bishop of Jalandhar
ArchdioceseDelhi
DioceseJalandhar
Appointed13 June 2013
Installed13 June 2013
PredecessorAnil Joseph Thomas Couto
Orders
Ordination21 April 1990
Consecration21 February 2009
by Vincent Michael Concessao
Personal details
Birth nameFranco Mulakkal
Born (1964-03-25) 25 March 1964
Mattam, Kerala, India
NationalityIndian
DenominationLatin Church
OccupationBishop
Alma materGuru Nanak Dev University (M.A.)
Alphonsian Academy (D.Phil.)

Biography

Franco Mulakkal was born in Mattam, Thrissur, Kerala, India on 25 March 1964.

He was ordained for Priesthood at St.Thomas Forane Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Mattom, Thrissur, Kerala on 21 April 1990.[10]

He was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi and titular bishop of Chullu on 17 January 2009. He was consecrated a bishop on 21 February 2009. He was appointed bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar on 13 June 2013 by Pope Francis. He also serves as the Secretary of the Regional Bishops Conference of North India and Consultor for the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.[11][12]

Sexual assault and arrest

In June 2018, a nun accused Mulakkal of rape and a complaint was filed with the Kerala Police under Section 164 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC, India).[13] The nun in Kerala alleged that she was raped by Bishop Mulakkal 13 times between 2014 and 2016 during his visits to a convent in Kottayam district in Kerala.[14][15][16][17][18][19] Three more women accused the bishop of sexual misconduct against them, but the congregation's superior general maintains that the bishop is innocent.[20] On September 20, 2018, Pope Francis accepted Mulakkal's request for a leave of absence from both his role as Bishop and pastoral duties.[21]

In September 2018 Kerala Police arrested Mulakkal for allegedly raping a nun multiple times between 2014 and 2016.[22][23] The arrest was made in September 2018 in Kochi, India. He was interrogated by the Kerala Police for three days before arrest.[24] Vijay Sakhare, inspector general of Kerala Police said "After our investigation, we have enough evidence that the bishop, prima facie, has committed the crime."[25] A Kerala Judicial Magistrate extended his judicial custody in jail for 14 days until 20 October 2018. The Kerala High Court rejected Mulakkal's first application for bail, citing prima facie evidence in the case, and extended his stay his prison by 14 days.[26] He was later formally charged in April 2019 with raping the nun nine times over a two year period and faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.[27] 80 witnesses, including a cardinal, three bishops, 11 priests and 25 nuns, according to Indian Catholic group Save our Sisters, have issued statements against Mulakkal.[27]

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See also

References
  1. "Birthday wishes to Bp. Franco Mulakkal | Missionaries of Jesus". missionariesofjesus.in. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  2. "Dr Cheema Felicitates Bishop Franco Mulakkal For Completing 25 Years Of Baptism | City Air News". cityairnews.com. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  3. "Sukhbir meets Bishop of Diocese in Jalandhar - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  4. "Rt. Rev. Dr. Franco Mulakkal | Navjeevan Charitable Society". navjeevanjalandhar.org. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  5. Administrator. "Fr. Franklin and Team greeted Bishop Franco Mulakkal - Indian Catholic Youth Movement (ICYM)". icym.net. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  6. "Home - Diocese of Jalandhar". Diocese of Jalandhar. 16 November 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  7. "Bp. Franco visits Salesian College". Salesian College Dimapur. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  8. "Newly appointed DIOCESE of Jalandhar, Bishop Franco Mulakkal". calgaryindians.com. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  9. "Franco Mulakkal is new bishop". hindustantimes.com/. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  10. Franco, Mulakkal. "Bishop Franco Mulakkal biography" (PDF). http://files.mulakkal.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018. External link in |website= (help)
  11. "Bishop Franco Mulakkal | Bishop of Jalandhar Diocese Franco Mulakkal | Ucanews". directory.ucanews.com. Archived from the original on 25 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  12. Cheney, David M. "Bishop Franco Mulakkal (Aippunny) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  13. New indian express rape news (7 July 2018), Rt. Rev. Dr. Franco Mulakkal, Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar, Punjab, India, retrieved 7 July 2018
  14. "Kerala rape case: Pope temporarily relieves Bishop Mulakkal of pastoral duties - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  15. "Bishop Franco Mulakkal, Accused Of Raping Kerala Nun, Temporarily Removed By Vatican". NDTV.com. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  16. "Nun 'rape' case: SIT to question bishop for 3rd day tomorrow - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  17. "Kerala nun rape case: Accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal quizzed for 8 hours on Day 2 - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  18. "Kerala Nun Rape Case: Bishop Franco Mulakkal to appear before Kerala Police for interrogation - Republic World". Republic World. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  19. "Kerala nun rape case: Bishop Franco Mulakkal appears before probe team". India Today. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  20. "Indian bishop accused of rape steps aside, requests leave from Vatican". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  21. https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/pope-names-administrator-indian-bishop-investigated-alleged-rape
  22. "India bishop accused of rape arrested". 21 September 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  23. "Kerala Police arrested Franco". Asianet News. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  24. "Bishop Franco Mulakkal arrested in Kerala nun rape case". indiatoday. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  25. "Catholic bishop in India arrested after being accused of raping nun". CNN. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  26. "Kerala nun rape case: Bishop Franco Mulakkal's judicial custody extended by 14 days". indianexpress.com. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  27. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/indian-bishop-formally-charged-with-rape-39446
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