The Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar / Jullundur () is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, located in the city of

Jalandhar Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab, India, Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population, third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the ...

in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

in India.

History

* 17 January 1952: Established as the

Apostolic Prefecture An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

of Jalandhar from the Diocese of Lahore * 6 December 1971: Promoted as Diocese of Jalandhar

Leadership

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s of Jalandhar (

) ** Bishop

Franco Mulakkal Franco Mulakkal is an Indian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was a member of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, until changing his sui iuris to the Latin church in lieu with mission work. He worked as the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese ...

(4 August 2013 – 1 June 2023) ** Bishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto (16 April 2007 – 30 November 2012) ** Bishop Symphorian Thomas Keeprath, O.F.M. Cap. (18 March 1972 – 24 February 2007) * Prefects Apostolic of Jalandhar (Latin Church) ** Fr. Alban of Blackburn, O.F.M. Cap. (31 October 1952 – 1971)

Sexual assault case

IN 2021, a court ruled Bishop Franco was not guilty. On 14 January 2022, the Additional Sessions Court acquitted him of all charges. In 2018 a rape complaint against Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal, the police received a copy of the victim nun's statement, given to Changanasseri, Kerala Judicial First Class Magistrate under Section 164 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC, India).

Kerala Police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament, ...

arrested Franco Mulakkal for allegedly raping a nun multiple times between 2014 and 2016. The arrest was made in September 2018 in Kochi, India. He was interrogated by the

for three days before arrest. Vijay Sakhare, inspector general of

said "After our investigation, we have enough evidence that the bishop, prima facie, has committed the crime." On September 20, 2018, Pope Francis accepted Mulakki's request for a leave of absence. On 8 October 2018, Bishop

Agnelo Gracias Agnelo Rufino Gracias (born 30 July 1939, in Mombasa) is the auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay. On 8 October 2018, Gracias took office as apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church i ...

took office as

apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

''sede plena et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis'' of the diocese, after Mulakkal's arrest. In 2022, the trial court found Bishop Franco not guilty and free from all the charges.

References

External links

GCatholic.org

Website of the diocese
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jalandhar Roman Catholic dioceses in India Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Christianity in Punjab, India Christian organizations established in 1952 1952 establishments in India Jalandhar