Ever since the rape allegations against Franco Mullakal, the then Bishop of Jalandhar first surfaced, the Catholic Church has been accused of attending to covering it up and shielding the accused.

The church and various church-linked organizations had openly come out in support of the bishop and even went on a spree of character assassination of the complainant and other nuns who were supporting her.

In yet another sign that Mulakkal, who is no longer the Bishop of Jalandhar continues to enjoy the patronage of the church, the Thrissur Archdiocese has featured his photo on its official 2019 calendar.

The calendar, published by ‘Catholicasabha’, the mouthpiece of the archdiocese has Mulakkal's photo in March, which is his birth month.

He is featured along with all the other Bishops from the Thrissur Archdiocese who have their photos on the calendar on the month of their respective date of birth.

The move to include the photo of Franco who is out on bail in the rape case has not gone down well with a section of the community.

The publishers defended the move saying that the image of Franco was printed since he is still a bishop despite the fact that he was temporarily relieved of his pastoral responsibilities by Pope Francis in September.

Earlier, in October when Franco returned to Jalandhar after he was granted bail by the Kerala High Court, the rape accused was given a hero's welcome by the church authorities and a section of the community.

Meanwhile, the Indian Women Theologians Forum (IWTF) a church-linked organization has written to Pope Francis seeking immediate action and removal Franco Mulakkal from the post of bishop of Jalandhar till the legal proceedings are completed.