Kerala Church Sex Scandal Case: CMI Priest James Erthayil Asked to Step Down After Audio Clip Went Viral
'If needed we can buy some land and build a convent and shift all of you to a safe location,' Father James was heard saying in the viral audio clip.
Kottayam, Jul 30: Father James Erthayil of Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI) Congregation has been asked to step down after an audio clip of his conversation with a nun went viral. Father James was heard offering land, building, and safety to the Kerala-based nun, in exchange for withdrawing the rape complaint against Father Franco Mullackal, the Bishop of Jalandhar diocese.
"If needed we can buy some land and build a convent and shift all of you to a safe location," Father James was heard saying in the viral audio clip. "If you can think in that positive aspect, I will do whatever I can. I am not saying that I can do everything, but will do whatever possible. So the idea is to buy some land and build a convenient building and shift you to that safety," he added.
Father Mullackal, the Bishop of Jalandhar diocese, has been accused of raping and having unnatural sex multiple times with a nun in a small region in Kottayam between 2014 and 2016. While narrating her ordeal to the district police chief, the nun said that she was raped around 13 times over a span of two years. She had first filed a complaint with Syro-Malabar Church head Cardinal George Alancherry but claimed that he refused to take any stringent action on the matter. Further investigation is underway.