Vatican City, Oct 17, 2019 / 02:22 pm (CNA).- The Congregation for the Oriental Churches has rejected the appeal of Sister Lucy Kalapura, who was dismissed from religious life in August for several acts of disobedience, including a protest of the handling of one other nun’s accusation that a bishop serially raped her.
The congregation’s Sept. 26 decree denying recourse to the nun of the Franciscan Clarist Congregation was conveyed in an Oct. 11 letter from the apostolic nunciature in India.
Sr. Lucy has the proper to further appeal to the Apostolic Signatura.
Nonetheless, she told the BBC that “I don’t see any point in doing that since they’ve made up their mind. I’ll now go to court on behalf of all of the people who find themselves being suppressed and facing illegal behaviour from authorities of the congregation.”
She maintained: “I’m not going to depart the convent. The life-style I lead is as per the principles and regulations.”
Sr. Lucy was sent a letter Aug. 5 from the superior general of the FCC, Sr. Ann Joseph, notifying her she had been dismissed from the community, which decision had been confirmed by the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
Sr. Lucy has led a life against the principles of non secular life, the community says, by disobeying a transfer order, publishing poems after having been denied permission to accomplish that, buying a vehicle, withholding her salary from the congregation, and participating in a protest against Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jullundur, who has been charged with several instances of raping a nun of a unique congregation.
The letter from Sr. Ann Joseph said that Sr. Lucy “didn’t show the needed remorse and also you failed to provide a satisfactory explanation on your lifestyle in violation of the correct law of the FCC.”
Sr. Lucy had been sent a letter of warning Jan. 1, asking that she appear before Sr. Ann by Jan. 9 to elucidate her disobediences, or face expulsion from the congregation.
In January Sr. Lucy said that the congregation was attempting to silence her, and denied any wrongdoing.
She was sent a second letter of warning in February, and India Times reported that she “failed to reply to a notice issued against her in March”.
The congregation’s General Council, held May 11, voted unanimously to dismiss Sr. Lucy, and asked for confirmation from the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
Within the January letter of warning sent to Sr. Lucy, the superior general wrote that she joined a protest regarding Bishop Mulakkal “without the permission of your superior. You have got published articles in some non-Christian newspapers and weeklies … gave interviews to ‘Samayam’ without looking for permission from the provincial superior. Through Facebook, channel discussions and the articles, you belittled the Catholic leadership by making false accusations against it and tried to bring down the sacraments. You tried to defame FCC also. Your performance through social media as a non secular sister was culpable, arising grave scandal.”
The letter also said Sr. Lucy didn’t obey a transfer order given her in 2015 by her provincial superior, and that she published a book of poems despite being denied permission to accomplish that, and used 50,000 Indian rupees ($700) from the congregation’s account “without proper permission” to accomplish that.
Sr. Kalapura can also be accused of shopping for a automotive for about $5,670 and learning to drive without permission, and failing to entrust her salary from December 2017.
Sr. Ann Joseph called these acts “a grave infringement of the vow of poverty.”
The superior general added that Sr. Kalapura has been corrected and warned several times by her provincial over her “improper behaviour and violations of non secular discipline.”
“As an alternative of correcting yourself, you might be simply denying the allegations against you stating that you will have to live your individual beliefs, ideologies and conviction. You might be repeatedly violating the vows of obedience and poverty. The evangelization and social work you do needs to be in accordance with the FCC values, principles and rules. The current mode of your life is a grave violation of the occupation you will have made,” Sr. Ann Joseph wrote.
One other nun of the FCC, Sister Lissy Vadakkel, was transferred earlier this yr from Muvattupuzha to Vijawada.
Sister Alphonas Abraham, superior of the FCC’s Nirmala Province, said in February that Sr. Lissy’s transfer was unrelated to her acting as a witness within the case against Bishop Mulakkal.
In April, Bishop Mulakkal was charged with rape.
