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Ex-nun seeks justice against priest for 'deceptive sexual violence' (Part 2 of 3)
A woman has been struggling with mental health issues as she seeks justice for alleged sexual violence with attempt to deceive that she experienced as a nun, when a priest in her diocese in Sumba got her pregnant and continues to find refuge in the Catholic Church. The Jakarta Post has been collaborating with other media outlets to shed light on alleged sexual abuse cases surrounding the Catholic Church over the past year. This time, the Post collaborated with Katolikana, an independent Catholic media outlet. This is the second part of a three-part story.
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Stock illustration of sexual predation and abuse of power in Catholic institutions (JP/Hengky Wijaya)
T
he Jakarta Post has been collaborating with other media outlets to shed light on alleged sexual abuse cases surrounding the Catholic Church over the past year. This time, the Post collaborated with Katolikana, an independent Catholic media outlet. This is the second part of a three-part story. The first part can be read here.
Afra (not her real name), a 41-year-old woman and former Catholic nun, has been struggling to restart her life after miscarrying a child she conceived with a 33-year-old priest identified only as MT, who is a member of her diocese in Southwest Sumba regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
Afra recounted that after her pregnancy came to light, she and MT sought to appease the family of their concerns. MT confessed his love for Afra to her mother during their extended visit to the family on June 2, but the priest disappeared just as the couple was to meet with diocesan officials on the morning of June 5.
Her faith in MT faded the longer she went without news from MT. She started experiencing symptoms of severe depression and other mental health disorders, weeping frequently and refusing to eat. She often left home on her own, without shoes, and was sometimes found sitting on the side of the road, in a shop or even at the airport.
“I was ashamed and in a daze. I was going out of my mind, [having fallen] from being a nun to meeting him and then being treated very poorly. I was truly heartbroken, left with only the false hope that he had given me,” she recounted.
Afra’s family then sent a letter to the diocese with a list of demands, asking the bishop to follow up on the case, the diocese to defrock MT and the church to order MT to take responsibility for his actions. The family’s letter also said they would take the case to court if these demands were not met.
On June 14, the diocese sent an investigation team to Afra’s house to hear her complaints. Ten days later, the family went to the diocesan office for an update on the investigation, but went home without any clear answers.
