Pastor rape case: Church must stand by the victims and not protect its own

The case of Kerala priest Robin Vadakkumchery who was finally caught after the victim became pregnant reminds me of the movie Spotlight. In that movie it is shown how the Boston Archdiocese was aware of instances of sexual abuse by priests. It also shows how influence was wielded on the police, media as well the judiciary to hush up the matter.

In Kerala, the public anger is clear against the Catholic Church after allegations of the shielding the pastor accused of raping a minor girl cropped up. It was a call that was made to a helpline which led to the tracing of the new-born child to a church-run orphanage.

Allegations of a cover up cropped up during the course of the investigation. It was found that the pastor had convinced the father of the victim to take the blame. The Kerala police must probe further into this case. The victim gave birth at a hospital and then the baby was sent to an orphanage. Who were the persons who abetted this cover up? It was all hush-hush until that anonymous call was made by a Good Samaritan to the government child helpline.

The police say that in such cases, the victims go directly to the higher ups in the church. "They should come to the police station instead. The problem is that they fear social stigma, and hence seek recourse in the church itself. There are also several cases where the victims have remained quiet about it and suffer in silence. This should change and if victims and their parents go to the police, then the problem could be sorted out," a police officer says.

The movie Spotlight narrated the power of the church extremely well. It took months of investigation and pacifying the victims before the truth could come out. The power of money and the clout that is enjoyed by the church is what makes the government or the law enforcement agencies think at least a 100 times before going after them. Everyone needs to be accountable and the case of the church should be no different.

OneIndia would like to state that this article is not an attempt to generalise the problem. There are good men who have done great service as well. However there is a clean up that is also required and the best way to start off is by not covering up such offences. The time has come to make a statement.

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