KOTTAYAM: The church in India has been reeling under deep crises involving financial frauds, sexual abuses and infighting between various denominations in the recent past. Acts of a handful of few has tarnished its image. The increase in the number of sexual abuse complaints against the clergy has, however, indicated that the age of cover-ups may be nearing its end. The faithful are no longer willing to keep mum and the nun in the bishop Franco Mulakkal case symbolizes a new face of the devotees who are willing to battle the culture of secrecy that perpetuated abuses.Bishop Yuhanon Mar Meletius of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church said in his personal opinion, in the case involving the Mulakkal, both the church and the bishop have to take the blame.“The bishop should have stepped aside on moral grounds. The church or the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India could have advised him to do so,” he said. He also slammed the church for covering up complaints registered by the nun to various authorities and cautioned the church to be alert in the rapidly-evolving world. “All are under scanner in the age of social media,” he said, adding that the church has the responsibility to protect the nuns who have nobody to depend upon.The biggest cause of concern for the church has been that those in upper echelons of the church have been using their power to cover up their misdeeds, said former spokesperson of the Syro-Malabar Church, Fr Paul Thelakkat.“ It is possible for scandals to breakout in churches across the globe. It can happen with a bishop or a nun. The faithful do not get worried if someone faces a scandal. But we are worried when some people use their clout for covering up their failures,” he said.The church has been facing a crisis in terms of spiritual and moral leadership, he added. “The church leaders, including cardinals and bishops, are the ones who lead the faithful. They should be living models. It applies to all church leaders, including priests and nuns,” he said. Church of South India moderator Bishop Thomas K Oommen expressed concerns about the decline of values in the church as well as in the society. He said it was not proper to create a controversy when such scandals erupt and use it as a pretext to paint the entire church with a broad brush

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