Franco Mulakkal Resigns As Jalandhar Bishop

Bishop Franco Mulakkal (File Photo-Mathrubhumi Archives)
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Bishop Franco Mulakkal (File Photo-Mathrubhumi Archives) 

Highlights

  • Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who was temporarily removed of his pastoral duties by Pope Francis in 2018 after claims of rape by a nun, has resigned from the position of Jalandhar Bishop.
  • His resignation will open the door for the diocese to name a new bishop.

As per a church source, Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who was temporarily removed of his pastoral duties by Pope Francis in 2018 after claims of rape by a nun, has resigned from the position of Jalandhar Bishop.

The Vatican sought Mulakkal's resignation, who was exonerated by a Keralan court last year in the rape case, not as a disciplinary move against him but rather for the sake of the Jalandhar diocese, which requires a new bishop.
According to the reports, his resignation will open the door for the diocese to name a new bishop. The bishop declared in a video that the Holy See had accepted his resignation as of today.

Franco Mulakkal's current status as Bishop Emeritus of Jalandhar does not mean that he has canonical limitations on his ministry. On February 8 of this year, Mulakkal met the Pope for the first time after the Additional District and Sessions Court I, Kottayam cleared him of all charges in the rape case.

Following Mulakkal's interrogation by Kerala police in connection with allegations of rape made by a nun, Pope Francis temporarily stripped the bishop of his duties over the diocese in September 2018.

Mulakkal was not granted any additional responsibility in the church despite being cleared by the local court in the controversial case. The Vatican had previously approved the court's judgement clearing him of all rape-related charges.

The nun, who claims the bishop sexually assaulted her, has appealed the trial court's decision to the Kerala High Court.

She had claimed Mulakkal, who was the bishop of the Jalandhar diocese in Punjab, had repeatedly raped her during his visits to a convent in Kottayam, Kerala, between 2014 and 2016.

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