Kerala nun accuses Catholic bishop of sexually abusing her four years ago in Kottayam, says Church ignored her complaint

Kottayam: A nun has filed a police complaint against a Catholic bishop of a diocese in north India, alleging that he had sexually abused her multiple times at a small town near Kottayam in Kerala four years ago, police said on Friday. In her complaint to Kottayam district police superintendent, the nun alleged that she was subjected to sexual abuse 13 times. [caption id=“attachment_4635791” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Getty Images[/caption] She said that she was abused for the first time in 2014 at a guest house near an orphanage in Kuravilangad region in the district, they said. The nun claimed that she had then complained to the church authorities about the abuse, but no action was taken. She said the unfavourable approach of the Church authorities towards her grievances forced her to lodge a police complaint in the matter, police said. Supporters of the bishop have rejected the charges against the priest. They said the nun filed the police complaint after a priest, who is also an official of the Jalandhar diocese, lodged a complaint with police against her relatives on the charges of threatening the bishop. Meanwhile, the bishop has filed a counter petition against the nun with the police. In his complaint, he has alleged that the relatives of the nun threatened to kill him after he ordered a probe against her on the basis of a complaint by wife of a person. Based on the complaints of the nun and the priest, the police have launched an investigation. The district police chief has directed a DSP rank officer to launch a probe into the incident based on both the complaints. The priest, a Keralite, has been serving as bishop of the Jalandhar diocese in north India since 2013. There was no immediate reaction from the Church authorities on the allegations.