Dismissed Kerala nun accuses Catholic priest of 'humiliating' her on social media after he releases video with 'vulgar' language

Kochi: A Kerala nun, who supported a protest against a bishop accused of rape, Tuesday accused a Catholic priest of Mananthavady diocese of using social media platform to “humiliate” her. Sister Lucy Kalappura alleged that the priest, who is part of PRO team of the Mananthavady diocese of the Catholic Church, posted the CCTV visual of media persons visiting her in the convent in the social media platforms to “humiliate” her. [caption id=“attachment_6275441” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Sister Lucy. ANI[/caption] The nun was expelled by the Aluva-base Franciscan Clarist Congregation (FCC) early this month for her lifestyle ‘in violation’ of the proper law of the FCC. Following her expulsion, the congregation had asked the nun to leave the nunnery. The nun had on Tuesday alleged that the priest collected the CCTV visuals of media persons visiting her at the convent and made a video aiming to humiliate her in public. She alleged the CCTV visuals were collected with the help of her fellow nuns in the FCC convent at Karackamala in Wayanad. “In the video, he (the priest) used vulgar language to humiliate me. He did so to disgrace me, to humiliate me,” Sister Kalappura told reporters outside her convent. The nun said she would lodge a police complaint against the priest. The Mananthavady diocese disowned the views expressed by the priest in the video, saying it was his personal views. “Whatever the priest said in the video are his personal views. We were not consulted before posting such a video on the social media,” PRO of the Diocese, Fr Jose Kocharackal, told PTI. He said the priest, who often reacts through social media platform on issues happening in his surroundings, is a member of the PRO team of the diocese. The issue came to light a day after the Vellamunda police registered a case against the FCC convent authorities at Karakkamala following a complaint of illegal confinement by the nun. Sister Kalappura had alleged that she was locked up in the Karackamala convent by the convent authorities to prevent her from attending the mass at the church in the neighbourhood. The Church authorities have rejected the allegations by the nun. The nuns who went for the holy mass had locked the doors of the convent to ensure that the safety of one of their fellow nuns who had stayed back due to her illness. Siter Kalappura has filed an appeal before the Vatican against Franciscan Clarist Congregation’s decision to expel her from it. In its notice to the nun early in January, the congregation had termed as “grave violations,” Sister Kalappura possessing a driving licence, buying a car, taking a loan for it and publishing a book and spending money without the permission and knowledge of her superiors. She had dismissed some 14 charges levelled against her by the congregation, saying many of them were a “deliberate attempt” to paint her in “bad light”. In its notices, the congregation had alleged that the nun violated FCC’s dress code in public “without any permission” and “caused grave external scandal and harm to the Church” by participating in the protest by ‘Save Our Sisters Action Council’ on 20 September, 2018, in Kochi, seeking the arrest of Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun in Kerala.