Sexual Abuse within a structure of power: Sister Lucy Kalapurra’s story
Equality
In June 2018, a nun accused Franco Mulakkal, a bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar of raping her 13 times between 2014 to 2016. In April 2019, Mulakkal was formally charged with rape and is currently undergoing trial.
Among the many voices of support the survivor in this case received, Sister Lucy Kalapurra’s became the forefront of dissent in the Indian Catholic community. However, less than a week ago, Sister Lucy received orders from the Vatican to leave her convent, for seemingly unrelated offences.
The devil in the details: A case recap
June 2018 - Franco Mulakkal accused of rape by a nun. Sister Lucy Kalapurra and Sister Anupama Kelamangalathuveliyil, among several others, join the criticism against Mulakkal
January 2019 - Sister Anupama and three other nuns campaigning against Mulakkal transferred from their convent; All four nuns allege being mentally harassed
April 2019 - 80 witnesses, including a cardinal, three bishops, 11 priests and 25 nuns issue statements against Mulakkal. Mulakkal formally charged with rape
July 2019 - Sister Lucy expelled from her convent for acquiring a driver's license, buying a car and publishing a poetry book - all against ‘principles of religious life’
August 2020 - Mulakkal released on bail; continues to serve as the secretary-general of the Regional Bishops’ Council of the North
June 2021 - 3 appeals for stay dismissed; Sister Lucy exhausts all her options to remain in the convent
History of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church
While records of abuse date back to as early as the 11th century, recent times have seen a growing number of allegations - the abused mostly being young boys but also girls between ages 11-14.
According to a prominent study, 4,392 Catholic priests in active ministry between 1950 and 2002 have been plausibly accused of underage sexual abuse by 10,667 individuals.
In 2017, Pope Francis also acknowledged that abuse of nuns by priests was a problem that was on the Vatican's radar.
The Vatican’s attempt at amends
The Vatican, in February 2019 passed three new laws, which called for greater transparency in reporting sexual abuse and set stringent guidelines for clergy’s interactions with minors. Many however criticised the vague nature of the recommendations to set up systems that ensure transparency of reporting. Reporting was still intended to be confined to the realm of the church instead of mandating judicial/other party interference.
Preserving the status-quo
Even amidst a global push for zero tolerance to cover up cases of abuse, Sister Lucy Kalapurra is being silenced for dissent. All the while, Mulakkal walks freely and holds a position of power even with mounting evidence of his misdemeanours.
How is it that people like Mulakkal are granted immunity from committing acts that go against every fabric of the system that’s granting them this power in the first place?
This behaviour, while disturbing, is not a phenomenon isolated to the Catholic Church
TheMeToo era saw a flurry of activity in India with Chinmayi Sripada pioneering the movement in the South Indian film and music industry.
The accused, poet Vairamuthu, faced little to no consequences. Chinmanyi on the other hand confronts a ban in the South Indian Cine Television Artist Dubbing Union, dwindling opportunities in the industry and massive trolling online every day.
Why is it that even when multiple people are speaking up against one person in power, the system is still failing them?
Did Ronaldo’s gesture really cost Coca-Cola 4 Billion dollars?
Finance
The $4 debacle
Last week, football player, Cristiano Ronaldo, moved two Coca-Cola bottles placed in front of him, minutes before Portugal’s Euro 2020 football championship pre-match press conference and reached out for water instead.
Later that day, several news articles (including our own!) came out saying that this move by Ronaldo has made Coca-Cola’s market capitalization fall by USD 4 billion in one day. But are the markets really this reactive to one move by a famous public figure for a company’s valuation?
Actually, it looks like Coca-Cola had already lost USD 4 billion in market value even before the footballer moved the bottles.
Don't believe us? Let's take look at the timeline.
Chain of events
Friday, June 11 - Coca-Cola has 4.3 billion outstanding shares which closed at USD 56.16. The total market value - USD 242 billion.
9:40 am EST, Monday, June 14 - 3 minutes before the move, the share price dipped to USD 55.26 that is, USD 0.90 or 1.6% lower than its closing value on Friday. The total market value - USD 238 billion.
9:43 am EST, Monday, June 14 - Cristiano Ronaldo moves the Coca-Cola bottle.
Based on the timeline, Coca-Cola had already lost USD 4 billion in market value even before the footballer moved the bottles.
Coca-Cola shares became ex-dividend on June 14
Ex-dividend date - Any investor who has bought the share on or after this date, he/she will not be eligible for the already announced dividend. Since the new investor is now not eligible for the declared dividend, share trades without the declared dividend value.
This means, on June 14, Coca-Cola shares were expected to trade at a lower value as they would now not include the USD 0.42 dividend per share that was announced on April 21, 2021.
The entire US markets traded low on June 14
Not just Coca-Cola, the whole US market was trading low on June 14. Ford Motor Company was down by more than USD 2 billion in market value on the same day.
Also, between 9:43 am (when Ronaldo moved the bottle) and the closing of Wall Street trading day on June 14, the share price of Coca-Cola rose by USD 0.30 per share, adding USD 1.3 billion to the company's market value.
Why is this important?
Ronaldo moving the bottle and the fall in share prices was a mere coincidence and had little to no correlation. It was really just another day in the stock markets, especially since the ex-dividend date was announced a year earlier.
This brings forward our biases, habit of cherry-picking information and also an inclination to fake news. With the rise of news apps and social media, news spreads like rapid-fire, whether fake or real.
Confront our biases
It is important to verify the headlines and rationalize whether there is an actual correlation between events. The stock markets have been long blamed for being erratic and making sharp moves. It is important that we recognize our biases, especially our confirmation bias, and not accept a statement presented as fact to be real data.
Most importantly, one shouldn’t be making investment decisions just on the basis of viral news without actually verifying it.
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