Kerala nun approaches Rome against dismissal from congregation

Lucy Kalappura, the nun who participated in the protest against rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal, has filed an appeal before the Catholic Church in Rome against her dismissal from the congregation on disciplinary grounds.

Kalappura was dismissed from the Franciscan Clarist Congregation (FCC) on August 7 for violating its rules and asked to move out of the hostel within 10 days.

She, however, has said that she will not leave the hostel.

The nun has been an outspoken supporter of the protest at Ernakulam to demand the arrest of Bishop Mulakkal.

In January this year, she was served the first warning letter by the Superior General of the Congregation, followed by two more in February and March for violating the vow of obedience.

A series of warning letters were issued to her for supporting the nuns' protest at Ernakulam seeking the arrest of Bishop Mulakkal.

Bishop Mulakkal, a senior member of the Roman Catholic clergy in India, was arrested last year following allegations by a nun that he repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted her at the Kuravilangad convent between 2014 and 2016, a charge denied by him.