Indian court acquits bishop in abuse-reporting case
August 21, 2025
» Continue to this story on UCANews
CWN Editor's Note: An Indian court acquitted a retired bishop of an alleged violation of the abuse-reporting requirements of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
According to the court ruling, Bishop Thomas Dabre, the bishop of Pune from 2009 to 2023, asked a police officer whether he should report a priest’s alleged assault of a 15-year-old boy. The officer told him that a bishop could not be compelled to do so—a claim difficult to reconcile with Chapter V of the act, which mandates the reporting of “likely” sexual abuse of minors. The bishop nonetheless directed a subordinate to report the alleged incident to police in a letter.
The court ruled that by asking a police officer whether he should file a report, and then directing a subordinate to file a report, the bishop “discharged his duty of communicating the incident to the police.” Father Roque Alphonse, the current diocesan administrator, described the acquittal as a “great relief.”
Pune is located in Maharashtra, an Indian state that has experienced a sharp increase in anti-Christian sentiment, according to International Christian Concern.
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
