Daijiworld Media Network - Kochi (SHP)
Kochi, Oct 29: Expelled nun Sr Lucy Kalappura has written a letter to the Vatican to provide her with an opportunity to appear before a tribunal to make a case against the congregation's decision. The Franciscan Clarist Congregation had expelled her after she took part in a protest which sought the arrest of Bishop Franco Mulakkal for raping a fellow nun.
In her letter to Leonardo Cardinal Sandri, Prefect, Congregation for the Oriental Churches, Sr Lucy also requested an opportunity to present her case before Pope Francis.
Sr Lucy Kalappura
However, the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Vatican dismissed Sr Lucy’s first appeal where she challenged the Congregation’s decision for “failing to give a satisfactory explanation for her lifestyle in violation of FCC laws”. But, the Vatican has now allowed her to present a new recourse before the Supreme Tribunal of the Segnatura Apostolica.
Responding to this, Sr Lucy stated she was grateful for the opportunity and would try to convey her side of the situation effectively.
“It is requested, further, that I be granted an opportunity to present my case to Pope Francis, whom I venerate and in whose sense of justice I have absolute faith”, Sr Lucy mentioned in her letter to Sandri.
Sr Lucy was expelled early in the year on August after she took part in the protest by the Missionaries of Jesus Congregation.
“I wish to urge strenuously that the actions initiated against me, and the vindictiveness it reeks of, cannot be understood aright if they are seen in isolation from the Franco Mulakkal matter as the trigger," she said.
Further, she claimed that she was collateral damage in the Franco Mukkal scandal. Sr Lucy demanded that justice be delivered or it will forever question the integrity of the Catholic Church.
“The only thing that will salvage the credibility of the Catholic Church in this context is to be seen as committed to truth and justice, without fear or favour. Attempts to the contrary are sure to be self-condemnatory; a concern that I cannot disown”, she added.
Earlier in January, Sr Lucy was sent a notice for violating code of conduct relating to possessing a driving licence, buying a car, taking a loan for it, publishing a book and spending money without the permission and knowledge of her superiors.
However, Sr Lucy claimed the allegations against her by the congregation were an attempt to slander her image. The FCC also alleged the nun violated its dress code in public without any permission and caused grave external scandal and harm to the Church by participating in the protest of ‘Save Our Sisters Action Council’ on September 20, 2018, at Kochi, which sought the arrest of Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun in Kerala.
The FCC claimed that Sr Lucy was issued ‘proper canonical warnings’, but did not show the needed remorse.