Nun commits suicide in Kerala

The suicide of a nun in Kerala on February 11, has depressed the Catholic Church in the state.

Sister Josephine, a 38-year-old nun at the Daughters of Mary convent at Pongumoodu, committed suicide by hanging herself in her room in the afternoon.

A press release from the Oriental-rite Catholic archdiocese said the deceased nun had been undergoing treatment for depression.

When other nuns did not see Sister Josephine at lunch, the statement said, they searched for her and found the door to her room bolted from the inside. The nuns broke down the door and found her hanging from the ceiling fan.

The police registered a case of suicide and said, medical prescriptions and some pills were found in the nun's room.

The suicide being the second in six months, led to tension in the area. A crowd shouted slogans against the nuns alleging that harassment led to the suicide of Josephine.

Mani Mekkunnel, national secretary of the Conference of Religious India (CRI), said, the death might trigger harsh criticisms from all sides against the church.

He said the CRI had studied the problem some 20 years ago when Kerala witnessed a spate of nuns committing suicide. According to him, the frustration with Religious life had led those nuns to end their life.

Last year August Anupa Mary, 22, member of the Vimala Hrudaya Franciscan congregation was found hanging in her bedroom in Quilon diocese, Kerala.

A suicide note expressing her difficulty to adjust to the convent life and her new environment was recovered by the local police. It even spoke of her disagreement with the Mother Superior of the convent.