Eight years after allegedly facing sexual abuse, intimidation, and social exclusion, Sister Ranit, a Keralite nun, has publicly shared her ordeal in connection with the Bishop Franco Mulakkal case. In an emotional interview with Asianet TV, she said she continues to live under psychological confinement, describing her present state as having her “hands and legs tied.”
Sister Ranit alleged that after raising the complaint within the Church, she was deliberately isolated, while other nuns who stood with her were harassed and eventually forced to leave the congregation. She claimed that those who stayed behind now survive by doing tailoring work, having been effectively abandoned by the diocese.
She also alleged attempts to implicate her relatives and fellow nuns in false cases and said internal support for the bishop worsened her suffering. Dismissing allegations of financial gain, Sister Ranit said she had never received any money from either the Church or Bishop Mulakkal.
Explaining her long silence, she said fear of expulsion and social shame prevented her from speaking out earlier. According to her, women who leave convents after raising complaints are often branded as immoral or as having fled, a label that permanently damages their dignity and family reputation. She added that many similar stories remain buried within convent walls due to fear and pressure.
Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who led the Jalandhar Diocese from 2013, was arrested in 2018, marking the first such arrest of a Catholic bishop in India. Though acquitted by a Kerala court in 2022, he later resigned following Vatican intervention, with Pope Francis accepting his resignation in 2023.
