The Vatican’s Congregation for Oriental Churches on Wednesday rejected Kerala nun Lucy Kalappura’s appeal against her expulsion from the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, The New Indian Express reported on Thursday.
Kalappura, who was at the forefront of protests against rape-accused former Bishop Franco Mulakkal, was expelled in August for her lifestyle, which allegedly violated church rules for nuns.
The Vatican rejected Kalappura’s appeal against her expulsion for failing to “give a satisfactory explanation for her lifestyle in violation of FCC laws”, NDTV reported. These violations include publishing books and songs, and earning money from them, as well as buying and driving a car.
The letter from Vatican was sent by Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro to Sister Ann Joseph, the congregation’s superior general. “Sr Lucy can present recourse to the supreme tribunal,” Diquattro added.
“Most of the communication is in a language I don’t understand,” Kalappura told NDTV. “So I will wait for a clear letter from superiors in the congregation, with any deadlines for the second appeal. I am also looking at possibilities of legal recourse. Under no circumstances, I am willing to leave the hostel and go.” Kalappura said she lives alone at the convent in Wayanad, with no other nurses willing to interact with her.
In August, the congregation in Kerala had written to Kalappura’s mother, asking her to take her home from the convent. The same month, it issued the nun a show-cause notice, asking her to withdraw a police complaint filed against a local superior nun and apologise. The police registered a case of wrongful confinement after Kalappura alleged she was locked up in the convent by other nuns to prevent her from attending mass at a nearby church.
The nun also filed a police complaint against a priest and five nuns for attempting to defame her. The police registered a case against the priest from the Mananthawady diocese in Wayanad, and the nuns of the congregation for allegedly sharing a video that portrayed Kalappura in a poor light. The video purportedly showed the priest, Father Nobel, criticising the nun for bringing two men into the convent through the kitchen. However, Kalappura clarified that they were journalists who had come to report on her being locked up in the convent.
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