A Christian church in Kerala suspended five priests over allegations that they blackmailed and sexually exploited a married woman. The suspension came after the woman’s husband from Thiruvalla in Kottayam district complained to the Malankara Orthodox Church. He alleged his wife’s confession to one of the priests, supposed to be kept a secret under church laws, was used to blackmail her. A church spokesman confirmed the priests were suspended pending an inquiry but refused to reveal their names.

An audio clip in which the man narrates the plight of his wife, started circulating on social media a few days ago. In the clip, the man is heard saying that the wife was sexually abused by one the priests before she got married. He also alleged that the priest made some advances towards her even after marriage. He further said that during their daughter’s baptism, his wife confessed her ordeal to another priest. Instead of helping her out, he too started abusing her. The second priest later passed on the information to three of his fellow priests who also allegedly exploited her. In the audio clip, he also said that he didn’t want to reveal his wife’s identity public to avoid further embarrassment.

The church’s working committee member and priests’ trustee Father MO John said an inquiry panel had been formed to investigate the allegations against the five priests. “The five priests have been asked to keep away from officiating all priestly duties and function as head of parishes. They are not under suspension,” said Father John. He, however, said the complaint did not deserve a police probe. “In the complaint, the husband said one priest had abused his wife 380 times. Then, what they were doing until the figure reached 380. That is why the husband was not keen to move a police complaint,” he said, adding there was no substance in the allegation that the woman was trapped during confession.

Father also said later that some of the allegations were very old and a thorough inquiry was required to confirm their veracity. He also said the church will approach the police if the allegations had substance. Police are yet to file a case since no complaint has been filed against the accused. The church sources said three of the priests belong to Niranam Diocese in Thiruvalla and two others were from Pandalam and Delhi.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 26, 2018 09:35 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).