{"id":33630,"date":"2018-10-22T12:00:45","date_gmt":"2018-10-22T18:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/?p=33630"},"modified":"2024-11-15T11:17:53","modified_gmt":"2024-11-15T18:17:53","slug":"priest-and-key-witness-in-nun-rape-case-found-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2018\/10\/priest-and-key-witness-in-nun-rape-case-found-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"Priest and Key Witness in Nun Rape Case Found Dead"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons by Lorie Shaull, Creative Commons Share Alike https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/deed.en<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Americans are scarcely aware of the horrific scandal in the Church in India. It involves accusations which appear to be well-founded of priests and bishops, raping nuns.<\/p>\n

A priest and lay person, who were both set to testify as witnesses in one of these cases have been found dead.<\/p>\n

From Catholic News Agency<\/a>:<\/p>\n

A priest who had been a key witness in the charge of rape against Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jullundur died Monday, prompting a police investigation into his death.<\/p>\n

Father Kuriakose Kattuthara, 62, was found unconscious in his room on Oct. 22 at St Mary\u2019s Church in Dasuya in Punjab, India. He had no visible signs of injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother had talked to me a week before the death. He had expressed fear that something may happen to him. We can\u2019t believe the Punjab Police version that my brother had died due to cardiac arrest. He had no history of heart ailments,\u201d Kurian told Firstpost.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

The priest\u2019s family petitioned for an autopsy and investigation. It was filed with the Alappuzha district superintendent of police, who forwarded it to Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister.<\/p>\n

The priest had testified against Bishop Mulakkal, who was been arrested on Sept. 21 for allegedly raping a nun for over a course of two years. The nun, who is a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, brought the accusation forward in June.<\/p>\n

The priest provided testimony to police about the case several weeks ago. Local Catholics say that others who have testified against the bishop have faced threats of retaliation.<\/p>\n

The nun said the abuse began in 2014 at her convent in Kuravilangad. The bishop has denied all accusations and was released on bail on October 15. He is awaiting trial.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Americans are scarcely aware of the horrific scandal in the Church in India. It involves accusations which appear to be well-founded of priests and bishops, raping nuns. A priest and lay person, who were both set to testify as witnesses in one of these cases have been found dead. From Catholic News Agency: A priest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1155,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[134,8247],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-clergy","category-clergy-sex-abuse-scandal"],"yoast_head":"\nPriest and Key Witness in Nun Rape Case Found Dead<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Americans are scarcely aware of the horrific scandal in the Church in India. 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