Father Sebastian Nelson Kollanassery, according to a complaint filed by the widow, raped her thrice – once in 2022 and twice in 2023 – at her home in Ernakulam district in Kerala state.
The priest, a native of Kerala, works in the Archdiocese of Raipur in the central Chhattisgarh state.
The widow, who is in her forties and works in a Church institution, said in her Feb. 11 complaint registered at the Trikkakara police station that the priest promised to marry her but later retracted.
She also alleged that Kollanassery recorded their intimate moments and blackmailed her into paying him 143,000 Indian rupees (US$1,645) on different occasions.
A senior police official at the Trikkakara police station refused to share any further details.
"We have not yet arrested the priest as the investigation is under progress," he told UCA News on Feb. 18 while requesting not to disclose his identity.
Father Sebastian Poomattam, vicar-general of the Raipur archdiocese, said, "We have not got any information from the police about such a case against one of our priests."
He said the archdiocese has also not initiated any action against Kollanassery.
"But we will cooperate with the police investigation if requested," Poomattam told UCA News. "The archdiocese will not protect any priest if found guilty of sex abuse," he added.
The priest, who was ordained in 2019 and is involved in parish ministries, has been reportedly missing since the registration of the complaint, said an archdiocesan official who did not want to be named. He said they would wait for the police probe to reveal the truth.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of India issued guidelines in September 2017 to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace, specifically to protect women working in Church institutions.
As per the guidelines, all dioceses, parishes and religious congregations are to institute committees to investigate complaints of sexual harassment or abuse. Upon receiving a complaint, the committee will have to make a preliminary inquiry and report such crimes to the police.
Every Catholic institution with over 10 employees must adhere to the 30-page document "CBCI Guidelines to Deal with Sexual Harassment at Workplace."
Christians make up 2.3 percent of India's 1.4 billion people and more than 80 percent of them are Hindus.