In a scathing and damning letter to the Apostolic Nuncio in India, Former Justice Michael F. Saldanha has demanded that Cardinal Oswald Gracias and Mysuru Bishop KA William steps down over a criminal conspiracy to procure a fabricated and false Certificate of a so-called paternity test and to use it officially in an attempt to falsify the unimpeachable evidence of paternity.
Justice Saldanha in his letter states, “I have investigated into this charge independently and threadbare and found that it is totally and completely established that William is the father of the boy in question. “
The former Justice further asserts that the law in this country is well settled by the Supreme Court in the Governor Tiwari case wherein the Supreme Court has very clearly mandated that there is only one authority i.e. the National Forensic Institute at Hyderabad which is designated to conduct paternity tests and there are fool proof guidelines regarding the drawing of the samples from the father and the offspring which has to be done under Court and Police supervision as otherwise, the test becomes meaningless. All records in respect of the tests done are required to be preserved in safe custody and produced before the designated Court which will scrutinize them and accept or reject the results.”
Exposing Cardinal Gracias cover-up attempt, Saldanha revealed, “I have informed the head of the St. John’s Hospital which Cardinal Gracias refers to as our own institution and warned them that if any bogus testing is done and a false Certificate issued that the matter will be taken up with the Government of India for withdrawal of the licence of the Hospital to function. The matter is very serious and so are consequences.”
The conversation between Cardinal Gracias and Bishop William has gone viral in this country as also in Europe, North America and the rest of the world. The authenticity of that recording is 100% authentic because both these persons are public figures and there are enough voice samples for conducting a forensic voice verification which has already been done, expressed Justice Saldanha. “In my case where I know both these persons personally where I am an experienced criminal lawyer and where voice identification is one of my specialties, I have vouched for the authenticity of the recording. The content of the criminal conspiracy between these two persons is 100% clear in so far as it is an arrangement to commit a criminal offence in order to procure a false Certificate which is to be used for illegal purposes. This is a serious criminal offence, punishable with ten years R.I. which is required to be recorded.”
A few days back, a leaked phone call between Bombay’s Cardinal Archbishop Oswald Gracias and Bishop of Mysore, K.A. William revealed how the former was telling the latter that he would ‘arrange’ for a DNA test to be conducted at a Catholic hospital as Bishop William had been accused of fathering a child.
In the telephonic conversation, Cardinal Gracias is trying to convince Bishop William to take the paternity test at a Catholic Church controlled hospital because it can be controlled and even tells the bishop not to worry about the media because he will control them too. Shockingly, Cardinal Gracias in strict confidence also reveals to the bishop that the Holy See (Vatican) had requested him to intervene in the Bishop Franco Mulakkal case too. Bishop Franco Mulakkal was the first bishop in India to be arrested on accusations of raping and sodomising a 44-year old nun 13 times over two-years.
At the very start of the conversation, Cardinal Gracias can be heard asking William repeatedly as to whether the latter was alone as he wanted to speak to him ‘confidentially and privately’ and whether the ‘line was clear’.
It is noteworthy that even in the phone call, Saldanha was mentioned by Cardinal Gracias and the latter said that he knew the judge personally and that Saldanha had been calling him and requesting a meeting. Cardinal Gracias then told Bishop William that he must take the DNA test because Saldanha would start publishing letters he had written to the Apostolic Nunciature; wherein it was stated that the Catholic Church had been protecting William for the last 6 years even after it was found out that William had continued with his relations with mistress and had fathered children from multiple illicit affairs.
“There is absolutely no problem in the diocese”, replied William in the phone call and said that his lawyer was giving a ‘beautiful explanation’ to Saldanha and he claimed that he was being ‘victimized’ by one Fr. Gilbert Aranha and a couple of bishops in Karnataka.
Cardinal Gracias during the conversation with Bishop William repeats multiple times that he was speaking on the behalf of Rome and while the Apostolic Nunciature to India should have asked him to take the DNA test, Girelli was ‘hesitant and diffident’ to do so. “What I told Rome, that if you really, if you come out like completely, we can then publicize, and you’ll come out like a hero and a martyr”, Gracias emphasized, telling Bishop William how everybody would say he was a ‘martyr’ who suffered so much unfairly when the paternity test cleared him.
The Cardinal also said that he would announce that the DNA test was being carried out at Bishop William’s own insistence. He further stressed, “Now, before we do it, I will check with the lawyers. Going to protect you, protect the child also, no?”
GoaChronicle.com has tried contacting Cardinal Oswald Gracias for a comment on his mobile but he has not replied to our messages or phone calls yet.
