BISHOP PRASAD GALLELA ACCUSED OF MARRIAGE, THEFT OF CHURCH FUNDS

KADAPA, India – A Catholic bishop, Bishop Prasad Gallela of Kadapa has been accused of breaching his oath of celibacy by going ahead to marry and for misappropriating funds belonging to his diocese.

He is alleged to be cornering church funds to support his wife and 18 year son. Bishop Prasad Gallela of Kadapa is due to appear August 18 before Lok Adalat, a government-approved forum which settles cases pending in Indian courts.

The bishop is alleged to have misappropriated millions of rupees and is being investigated following complains from two lay Catholics, 40-year-old Mesa Ravi Kumar and 65-year-old Byreddy Chinnappa Reddy two months ago.

Bishop Prasad Gallela was due to appear in a Kadapa district of court in Andhra Pradesh state in August 2, 2018 but his lawyers pleaded for more time.

“We have solid documents accessed from the government to prove his married status,” Kumar told ucanews.com”, adding that the bishop misled church authorities and Catholics because church laws clearly state that only a celibate male can be a priest and a bishop.

The petitioners are said to have circulated copies of government-issued identity cards and land deeds where Prasad Gallela is presented as the husband of a woman called Gallela Sujatha. They also circulated a government identity card of 18-year-old Gallela Junior Prasad, the couple’s son.

The petitioners allegedly complained to the vicar who has failed to take action on the matter.