The acquittal of bishop Franco Malakkal by the Kerala Sessions court of the charges of rape of a Kerala nun has evoked mixed reactions from the supporters of both camps.
While there was shock and disappointment for the victim nun and her supporters, it was also a day when ‘the goddess of justice was murdered in the courtoom”.
For a tearful and much relieved and jubilant bishop Malakkal “the verdict proved that there is God, and justice of heaven was delivered on earth”.
I wonder whether such beliefs will continue to hold good in the event of the tables being overturned and justice reversed when the case comes for hearing and is challenged in the high court.
On the other hand, for the Catholic church, it will hardly matter or make any difference -- something routine so to say, given the thousands of sexual abuse cases involving priests, bishops and Cardinals who are facing similar trials and even imprisonment in western countries.
