An open book

 

 

With reference to "Amen" the book by Jesme Raphael, the timing could not be more apt. The book comes close on the heels of the arrest of two nuns in the Sister Abhaya rape-cum-murder case, which the Catholic church struggled to suppress for 16 long years, and the recent suicide by Sister Anupama Mary in Kollam; her father has alleged sexual abuse by convent superiors. More recently, the church in Kerala hit the headlines following the controversial 'adoption' of a 26-year-old woman by a bishop — an event which forced the authorities to order an inquiry into the legality of the act. Stories of enormous pressure on Sister Jesme, even monetary inducements to cease writing her autobiography are hardly surprising.

Hemavathi A Hyderabad