Indian Christian nuns and Muslim supporters demand the arrest of Bishop Franco Mulakkal, after he was accused of raping a nun, outside the High Court in Kochi in the southern Indian state of Kerala on Sept. 13, 2018. Rape charges were officially filed against him in April 2019. (Photo: AFP) On June 1, the Vatican accepted the resignation of Indian Bishop Franco Mulakkal, almost five years after police arrested him on charges of raping a nun. The Vatican “requested” his resignation, said a statement from the apostolic nunciature in India, adding that this action should not be seen as a “disciplinary measure imposed upon” the bishop. The Mulakkal case has once again revived the demand for speedy and transparent action into allegations of clerical abuse in India as delays can lead to embarrassment for  Christians, who make up 2.3 percent in the Hindu majority nation of 1.4 billion people. The Vatican's move in the Mulakkal case came 18 months after a lower court acquitted him, and when an appeal against the acquittal is pending in a higher court. Mulakkal is the fourth Catholic bishop to resign over allegations of sexual abuse in India — all in the past 15 years. In all four cases, the hierarchy