Bishop acquitted of 13 counts of rape against a woman religious

by Lisa Kötter (Maria 2.0) 

Three days ago, a verdict was handed down in Kerala in southern India. Someone was acquitted. Someone was acquitted of 13 counts of rape. The acquitted man is a bishop of the Roman Church. The plaintiff was a woman religious directly subordinate to him. A religious who was the superior in her order. 

In detail, she had described 13 rapes by the bishop in the indictment and in endless procedures and interrogations. She submitted to these procedures in order to finally put a stop to this bishop. In his judgement, however, the judge let it slip that, firstly, nothing could be proven, i.e. everything was only the allegations of this nun, and secondly, the assumption that the sister had perhaps got caught up in power intrigues of church officials and had possibly been incited by competitors of this bishop to accuse him of these rapes. 

That is absurd. 

Every person who is a woman is able to imagine what such descriptions and interrogations must mean for a woman, especially for a religious. No woman would submit to such trials because of some male power intrigue. 

But the worst thing is that such a judgement discourages all those women and sisters who have been wronged and who wanted to decide to denounce their tormentors and demand justice. 

But who could help? 

Who could no longer just admonish these brothers, not just rap them on the knuckles, but put an end to all the injustice of exploitation and rape of religious sisters worldwide? 

Pope Francis has often said that he is aware of these conditions and that they weigh heavily on him. It is good to know that he knows about it. But where are the consequences? Where are the consequences in the behaviour of a church leadership that contributes to the deepening of misogynist structures in authoritarian societies? 

A church whose law states that victims of sexual abuse are not even heard in the church court? 

A church that took fraternity seriously would not only loudly denounce such conditions with flying flags, but would also take decisive action against them. It is so outrageous that on the one hand the universal church is constantly put forward when it comes to restricting the rights of women and other people - according to the motto that the others are not ready yet - and on the other hand to tolerate crimes, to tolerate them for decades as we know, and not to finally break up these structures that deeply promote abuse of all kinds. 

Also three days ago, I read in an interview with a woman from Maria 2.0 in Munich that Maria 2.0 had started so that women could finally be ordained as priests. That was never the intention. Of course, we are all, including myself, in solidarity with all women who would like to be. As long as there are priests in the Roman Church, there must of course also be women priests for reasons of equality. That would only be fair. But this justice would not be an end in itself. It can only be thought of in solidarity in the fight against injustice and exploitation of women worldwide. 

"One woman cardinal would bring more than a thousand anti-violence courses." I have often been insulted by clerics for this sentence. But these gentlemen have not understood what I am trying to say. It is about eye level. It is about sisterhood and brotherhood. It is about "what you do to my neighbour, you do to me". It is about dignity. Who would rape a potential woman cardinal? 

But what is always lost sight of here in our lush countries, especially in the small matter of church law and political discussion, is the worldwide deep-rooted misogyny of this church. A church that deepens and promotes misogynistic, authoritarian and male-bonding structures in all societies, but especially where they still rule without shame anyway. The Roman doctrine and its image of man always encourages such mischief as we see now in Kerala. It encourages this injustice because it is organised monarchically and hierarchically, and because it is built precisely on a system of commanding and obeying. Because by being organised in this way, it asserts a patriarchal system as humanly, God-willed and natural. 

Thus, the Roman Church is in good old tradition and fraternisation with the authoritarian systems of the world. We do not need to look at Islam or at structures within Hindu societies. We do not need to rise above African bosses or Jewish orthodox misogyny. 

As long as we tolerate that the red card of the world church is repeatedly drawn by the Roman lord-deciders when it comes to emancipatory processes within the church, we are all part of this injustice. 

I don't know how many German bishops I have heard this sentence from. "Yes, you are right in principle, but the world church is not.... The women in other countries are simply not yet as far advanced......" 

Such statements are not only stupid, because what woman in the whole world wants to be oppressed? Such statements are also deeply racist. Through the CWC, the Catholic Women's Council, we are connected to feminist Catholics all over the world. And no matter where they live, what colour their skin is, none of these women want to be oppressed. None of these women enjoy powerlessness in any form. None of these women pray for suffering, the endless suffering of their sisters. 

No, it is the Roman Church's claim that their order is God's will for order. They claim as God's will an order that constantly further curtails equal dignity and equal rights both in their own ranks and in the societies of the world, and constantly encourages oppression. 

There is a good reason why the Vatican is the (almost) only state not to have signed the European Convention on Human Rights. Because the teaching of the Roman Church places so-called natural law above human law. By natural law they understand the God-ordained order that is revealed to them and only to them. There is no other willed divine order than that of the Roman Church. That is the narrative. There is no other truth, no other image of man, no other image of women and men, no other order than that of the Catholic eternal holy Church. Only and exclusively is it willed by God and there is no other way to salvation than through it. 

Pope Francis had deplored and condemned violence against women earlier this year in a speech that received worldwide attention. He gave this speech a few days before this unjust sentence was passed. He should now also make appropriate countermeasures a top priority. He should follow up his words with action in his own ranks. That would finally be a credible action. 

Women from our ranks are currently asking cardinals in Rome to commit themselves to inviting the nun in question to the Vatican, to hear her informally and to state publicly that she is believed in Rome. This would be a powerful sign against violence against women and male-biased structures worldwide. It would be an umbrella, a sign of hope for women.