Catholic nun appears in Kerala High Court to fight her own case

In a first of a kind move a Catholic nun on Wednesday appeared as party in person in the Kerala High Court to fight her own caseSister Lucy Kalapurakkal was dismissed from the church at Keralas Manathavady in August 2019 by the Franciscan Clarist Congregation after getting the Vaticans clearance for disobeying church authorities Since then she has been fighting her case and she refused to move out from the convent in the Wayanad district that she is residing inOn Wednesday after her counsel withdrew for personal reasons the nun herself appeared as a party in person and said that since she already has the case against her congregation in another court she should be allowed to reside at her convent till its verdict comes She also wanted a review of an earlier directive of the High Court which in the course of the proceedings in the case expressed doubts if she can continue to reside in the conventMaking a passionate plea Sister Lucy noting that she has completed 25 years of service as a nun and wish to continue the same way said she has nowhere to go and should not be driven on to the streets She requested police protection at the place where she resides in the conventBut the counsel for the congregation contended that as a rule a nun when she moves from one place to another place should only stay in a convent and Sister Lucy in the course of conducting the case has violated all this The court however pointed out that they are prepared to ensure that she gets protection to her life and property wherever she staysThe court later posted the case for giving its final verdict Sister Lucy had supported the nuns strike in the state demanding the arrest of rapeaccused Bishop Franco Mulakkal who headed the Roman Catholic Diocese in JalandharAlso Read Delay in trials leading to undertrials languishing in jail Bombay High CourtHowever she became a target of the Church authorities after she joined the nuns protest against the delay in Mulakkals arrest despite the FIR against him But even though she was asked to move out from the convent then she got an order from a court that she should not be forced out and has been staying there since then Since then she had been receiving notices from the church on charges such as airing her opinion about the bishop on TV channels owning a car and writing a bookIncidentally the Kerala High Court in December 2019 declined to ban the nuns autobiography titled Karthavinte Namethil In the name of Christ and it was released laterThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever