Vatican rejects third appeal of expelled Kerala nun

PTI, Jun 14, 2021, 1:03 PM IST

Thiruvananthapuram: The Vatican has rejected one more appeal of Sister Lucy Kalappura, a Keralite nun against the decision of Franciscan Clarist Congregation (FCC) to expel her for ”failing” to provide an explanation for her lifestyle, which allegedly violated church rules.

According to an internal church communication, Apostalica Signatura, the apex judicial authority in the Catholic Church, rejected the nun’s third appeal against dismissing her from the century-old Congregation.

”The appeal of Lucy Kalappura is rejected by Apostalica Signatura and the dismissal is confirmed,” a communication in the Congregation said.

However, Kalappura came out against the Church decision and said she had no information that her appeal had been taken up for a trial and the present move amounted to injustice and against the truth.

The Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Vatican had dismissed Kalappura’s first appeal challenging her expulsion by the FCC, following which she had filed the second appeal in March last year.

The nun had filed the second appeal with the Vatican alleging that the ‘disciplinary action’ was taken for participating in protests by a group of nuns seeking the arrest of a bishop accused of raping a fellow nun.

Kalappura, who took part in a protest by nuns belonging to Missionaries of Jesus Congregation seeking the arrest of Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun, was expelled by the FCC under the Roman Catholic Church in August 2019.

The congregation, in its notice, had termed as ”grave violations” Sister Lucy 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 and the Vatican had ratified the decision.

The nun, however, had dismissed charges levelled against her by the congregation, saying many of them were a ”deliberate attempt to paint her in bad light.”